Officials Won’t Name Hoover Officer Involved in Shooting. Why Not?
Officials still have not released the name of the police officer who shot and killed a 21-year-old black man Thanksgiving night at the Riverchase Galleria mall in Hoover. A report from the Alabama attorney general’s office Tuesday cleared the officer of any criminal wrongdoing when he shot Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. He thought Bradford was the gunman in an active shooter situation.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said at a press conference Tuesday withholding the officer’s identity is about fairness.
“Just as any other private citizen that is investigated and found not to have committed a crime their name is not released,” Brocato says. “That’s the same procedure that we will follow with this officer.”
That’s in line with the position of Attorney General Steve Marshall, who says there’s no value in the public knowing who shot Bradford.
But we do know Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. And Timothy Loehmann was identified as the officer who shot and killed Tamir Rice. Neither of them were criminally charged. Why the difference?
Stephen Rushin, who teaches police accountability at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, says policies vary widely among departments, but it’s not uncommon for police to withhold an officer’s name in situations like this. Rushin says police unions typically push for non-disclosure to protect officers.
Rushin says an officer’s reputation is a concern but there is value in releasing a name because it’s not just about criminal charges.
“Is this the kind of behavior we want officers to be engaged in? Did it violate internal policy? And did the officer receive some sort of punishment in response to the behavior that they engaged in?” Rushin says.
He says without some kind of citizen oversight, you’re basically trusting the police to police themselves.
Kami Chavis, a former assistant US attorney now at Wake Forest University law school, is shocked law enforcement hasn’t released the officer’s name. She says private individuals are not the same as police officers.
“They are empowered to use force and authorized to use force during the normal course of their duties and many times that is appropriate,” Chavis says.
But she says not releasing a name can make police departments look like they’re hiding something which undermines public trust. Chavis adds officer names often come out anyway, for instance, through a civil lawsuit. An attorney for the Bradford family says they plan to file a civil lawsuit.
Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and U.S. officials
The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence.
Supreme Court allows Trump to resume mass federal layoffs for now
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed to the court by President Biden, dissented.
Graphics: Where the Texas floods happened and how high the waters rose
One Guadalupe River gauge near Kerrville and Camp Mystic recorded a rise of more than 25 feet in two hours.
Haiti’s iconic Hotel Oloffson, long a cultural beacon, destroyed by gang violence
The Hotel Oloffson in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, long a haven for artists and writers, poets and presidents, a symbol of Haiti's troubled politics and its storied past, has been destroyed by gangs.
New books this week focus on Caitlin Clark, King Tut, and how ‘Democrats Lost America’
Plus: a new novel from Gary Shteyngart, a true story of a shipwreck, and a memoir from a wrongly incarcerated inmate who was exonerated after 28 years behind bars.
Shoes off at the airport? TSA appears to be giving the pesky rule the boot
For nearly twenty years, most air travelers in the U.S. have been required to remove their shoes when going through security. That requirement seems to be ending.
