Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato says the city plans to defend the unidentified officer who shot and killed Emantic Bradford Jr. in any potential civil litigation.
This comes one day after Attorney General Steve Marshall‘s office released a report by the State Bureau of Investigation that cleared the officer of wrongdoing.
Source: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart,WBHM
Mayor Frank Brocato speaks to media.
In a press conference Wednesday morning, Brocato says he “respects the attorney general’s findings and encourages everyone to read the report in full.”
Bradford was killed Thanksgiving night at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover. He was shot by a Hoover police officer responding to gunfire inside the mall. When the officer arrived on the scene, he says he saw Bradford with a gun and assumed he was a threat.
Bradford was running towards his friend, Brian Wilson when the officer fired three bullets from behind into Bradford’s head, neck and back. Wilson was wounded by Erron Brown, who fled the scene and said he was acting in self-defense when he shot Wilson.
Outraged by the report findings, activists moved their efforts Wednesday to the state capitol in Montgomery. Joining them were members of Bradford’s family, who say they plan to file a civil suit against the officer who shot Bradford, and against the city of Hoover.
Protesters for #EmanticBradfordJr are at the state capitol today in response to @AGSteveMarshall‘s recent report that cleared the officer who shot Bradford. They’re chanting “hands up, don’t shoot” while carrying signs.
Courtesy of @TroyPublicRadio‘s @kdgassiott. pic.twitter.com/ba9mhOc28T
— WBHM 90.3 FM (@WBHM) February 6, 2019
This is their latest attempt after two months of intermittent protesting throughout Hoover. Thev’ve marched outside the home of Mayor Frank Brocato, the mall where Bradford was killed, and blocked busy roads and interstates.
The protesters continue to ask that the entire video of the shooting be released ,along with the identity of the officer who shot him. But AG Steve Marshall told WBHM in an interview there is no reason to reveal his identity.
“If any other individual were investigated by law enforcement and there was no determination a crime was committed, that information wouldn’t be public,” Marshall said. “There’s no reason for an officer to be treated any differently.”
Marshall says there is no value to the public in knowing his identity. Meanwhile, Hoover Mayor Brocato says he does not know the officer directly, but that he will go “through a process” outlined by Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis in order to return to work.