From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
MONTGOMERY — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced on Tuesday that he has concluded that the Hoover police officer, who shot and killed Emantic “E.J.” Bradford Jr. at the Riverchase Galleria mall on Nov. 22, did not commit a crime under Alabama law and thus will not be criminally charged for his actions.
The Attorney General further noted that it was his understanding that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had reviewed the matter and found no evidence to initiate a case against the officer for civil rights violation(s), according to a release from the AG’s Office.
The AG’s Office also showed surveillance video of the shooting death of E.J. Bradford Jr. to Bradford’s parents and attorneys, who had requested to be shown the video and to have it released to the public, stated the release from the AG’s Office.
Marshall’s report gives a detailed accounting of the Thanksgiving night shooting.
“The facts of this case demonstrate that Officer 1 reasonably exercised his official powers, duties, or functions when he shot E.J. Bradford,” the report stated. “Officer 1 and his partner (“Officer2”) were on duty in the Galleria when they heard two gunshots approximately 75 feet away.”
The report goes on to say how the officers responded to the gunshots.
“Officers 1 and 2 immediately moved toward the gunshots,” according to the report. “Within three seconds, they encountered E.J. Bradford, who held a firearm in a ready position, then charged forward: Several persons were in Bradford’s path. Immediately before him, Brian Wilson lay on the ground, bleeding from his gunshot wounds, and 18-year-old (“AC”) stood over Wilson. Beyond them, Erron Brown (the initial shooter) and his companions were running into JC Penney, while several innocent bystanders were scrambling for cover.”
The report states that Officer 1 identified Bradford as a threat to civillians and took action.
“Officer 1 identified E.J. Bradford as an immediate deadly threat to innocent civilians and thus shot Bradford to eliminate the threat,” the report said.
During the course of the investigation the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) interviewed three additional officers and 47 witnesses who were present at the Galleria at the time of the shootings.
Six of the additional witnesses provided information that was relevant to the officer-involved shooting.
Officer 3 stated that he and Officer 4 were working together on the first floor of the Galleria, outside of JC Penney, at the time of the initial shooting. Officer 3 stated that Officer 4. As they were moving, Officer 3 heard gunshots and saw a puff of black smoke. Officer 3 stated that the gunshots came from. The following photograph approximates Officer 3’s view of site where Erron Brown shot Brian Wilson:
Eyewitness 1 told authorities that she was working inside the Claire’s store on the second floor of the Galleria when she heard gunshots. While at the front door, Eyewitness 1 stated that she observed a black male on the ground by the railing in front of FootAction who appeared to be injured. Eyewitness 1 also saw a black male standing to the side of the injured male, holding a gun. Eyewitness 1 stated that this male (E.J. Bradford) appeared to be the shooter because he was the only man with a gun. Eyewitness 1 then saw two officers approaching E.J. Bradford. Eyewitness 1 stated that the officers were in a low crouching position with both hands on their guns, pointing at Bradford. Eyewitness 1 stated that E.J. Bradford was not moving.
Officer 3 stated that, based on his perspective from the first floor, the person whom Officer 1 shot (E.J. Bradford) was not the initial shooter. However, Officer 3 stated that determining the location of the initial shooter would not have been possible from Officer 1’s position on the second floor. Officer 3 stated that he believed Officer 1 perceived that E.J. Bradford posed a threat and took enforcement action, as every law enforcement officer would have done in that situation.
Officer 4 stated that he was working alongside Officer 3 on the first floor of the Galleria in front of JC Penney when he observed. Officer 4 stated that. Officer 4 informed Officer 3 that and then heard multiple gunshots. Shortly thereafter, Officer 4 heard another round of gunshots but did not see who fired them and did not know it was an officer. Officer 4 stated that after hearing the second round of gunshots, he and Officer 3 took a nearby staircase and began to clear the area.
Eyewitness 1 stated that she heard an officer say, “Drop your weapon, drop your weapon Sir, put your weapon on the ground,” and also say, “He is still not doing anything.” Eyewitness 1 stated that she then witnessed Officer 1 shoot E.J. Bradford. Eyewitness 1 then went to the back of the store and informed employees that the police had shot the initial shooter and were not in control of the situation.
Eyewitness 1 stated that she believed E.J. Bradford was the initial shooter and that he would continue shooting other persons, and thus she feared for her life, the officers’ lives, and the lives of persons on the ground. Eyewitness 1 stated that she feared that E.J. Bradford was going to shoot the officers and run because of how fast the officers arrived and because Bradford refused to put down his gun.
Eyewitness 2 was working inside the Claire’s store when she heard two gunshots. Eyewitness 2 stated that she saw an injured black male lying on the ground (Brian Wilson), a black male in civilian clothes (E.J. Bradford) and a police officer standing outside of FootAction. Eyewitness 2 stated that she did not see E.J. Bradford’s weapon, but she saw Bradford taking an “aggressive stance” and heard the police officer ask Bradford, “literally three times,” to drop his weapon. Eyewitness 2 stated that Bradford did not comply. Eyewitness 2 stated that she then saw Officer 1 shoot E.J. Bradford. Eyewitness 2 stated that she believed E.J. Bradford shot Brian Wilson and that she was afraid that Bradford would shoot the officer and the eyewitnesses if he turned and saw them.
Eyewitness 3 was working inside JC Penney and stated that people began running due to a fight on the first(sic) floor. Eyewitness 3 stated that she saw a police officer shoot E.J. Bradford three times. Eyewitness 3 stated that she did not see E.J. Bradford holding a gun, but she did see a gun come out from his right side as he fell to the floor.
Investigators secured surveillance video from JC Penney and FootAction that depicted the shooting of E.J. Bradford.
Investigators secured other surveillance videos from the Galleria, but only the FootAction and JC Penney videos depict the shooting of E.J.Bradford. Review of additional surveillance video regarding the Erron Brown matter continues.
Investigators also secured body camera videos from the officers on the scene, but none of the videos depict the shooting of E.J. Bradford. Body cameras possess limited battery life and digital storage. Accordingly, HPD policy dictated that the on-duty officers’ cameras be in standby mode while working their detail inside the Galleria on Thanksgiving night. As previously mentioned, Officer 1 told investigators that he did not have time to turn his body camera on before responding to the active shooting site due to the imminent nature of the threat. Accordingly, his camera video, and those of his fellow officers, begin after the shooting. Collectively, these videos depict three relevant pieces of information: Both officers believed and told their fellow officers that E.J. Bradford shot Brian Wilson; Officer 1 secured AC, ensuring that he was not armed; and, Officer 2 attended to Wilson by placing his hands into Wilson’s gunshot wounds.
The Jefferson County Coroner Medical Examiner’s Office (“JCCMEO”) performed an autopsy on E.J. Bradford on Nov. 23. JCCMEO determined that Bradford had been shot three times: one in the head, back right, one in the neck and one in the back, just above the right buttock.
Officer 1 fired his weapon four times. As shown by the autopsy, three of the four shots struck E.J. Bradford. Each of these rounds was recovered, in part or in whole, by the Medical Examiner during Bradford’s autopsy.
The remaining bullet fired by Officer 1 , or a large fragment of the bullet, struck a pillar to the right of the entrance of FootAction. Recovery of this fragment in a pillar indicates that Officer 1 did not hit the 12-year-old bystander in her back with the bullet that missed E.J. Bradford.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department collected E.J. Bradford’s firearm from the scene and at the time of recovery, there were 14 live rounds in the 15-round magazine and one live round in the chamber. There is no evidence that Bradford’s gun was fired at the incident scene. According to the report, it appears that Bradford chambered a bullet before being shot by Officer 1.