Shots fired Riverchase Galleria tonight

[Catfan73]

Sure doesn’t look good because right now it looks like police rushed in and shot the black guy, assuming he was the assailant.

[catmanjack]

Was on the local news here in Louisville that the police shot an innocent man, seems he might have been carrying a gun but had a permit. Also report the shooter got away and is still on the loose.

[CitizenBBN]

Was on the local news here in Louisville that the police shot an innocent man, seems he might have been carrying a gun but had a permit. Also report the shooter got away and is still on the loose.

I'm waiting to hear if he had the weapon out or on his hip or was concealed. Not that they may not lie their butts off if they shot the wrong guy, but the initial report used the word "brandishing", which means weapon in hand. He could have even had it legitimately drawn in that situation, trying to defend himself or others.

But if he had a weapon it may change it from a more racial issue to a "shoot first and ask questions later" issues if they saw a gun on him. Doesn't excuse it any less either way.

[Darrell KSR]

Lot of conflicting info. From what I can tell, this is about as accurate as anything *right now.*

1. A gunman got into an altercation with an 18-year old guy. He shot twice, hitting him both times. The gunman got away. The 18-year old is recovering.

2. After a hesitation, police shot 6 or 7 times, striking and killing the deceased, a 21-year old son of a Birmingham police officer with 25 years on the job.

3. The 21-year old received a GENERAL discharge from the Army. His family says it was for medical reasons.

4. The 21-year old had a gun. His family says he had a CCW permit.

5. During the melee, a 12-year old girl was shot. I think it was the police, since they already said that the 18-year old was struck twice and the gunman only fired twice. But it's possible that the bullet struck the 18-year old and the 12-year old both. I think a stray bullet got her.

6. The bullet was lodged closed to her spine. CT scans and other medical info seemed to suggest that it hit no internal organs, and the bullet was going to be left there since it wasn't causing any problems.

7. The family of the decedent have hired Trayvon Martin's civil rights lawyer, Benjamin Crump out of Tallahassee, Florida. They have called for transparency and release of police video.

8. Hoover police say they agree with the transparency and will release video. But at last check, they had not done so yet.

Those things, I think, are pretty solid. I have a slight "in" on some of the following, but still consider it in the rumor mill.

9. The police officer who shot and killed the 21-year old is inexperienced, new.

10. It is likely that the 21-year old had the gun in his hand, away from his body. I've heard "waving" it. My speculation is that he was panicked and pulled it out for protection. Video should show whatever it is.

11. After initially saying they got the gunman, Hoover police changed story to evidence showed the person they killed did not shoot, the gunman got away, but they believed that the decedent was involved somehow in the altercation that occurred. I don't know if that's true or not; have not heard anything at all reliable.

12. There have been some protests that have taken place here so far, but more controlled than I expected. I understand less than 100 people participated in a rally protest today at the Riverchase Galleria. I saw a picture of one young black man with a pistol butt showing out of his pocket. A little bit of a "wild West" feel right now. Even though the reaction/protests are less than I expected, tension among those who are there is still running high.

**** Update*****

13. Just read a report today. Hoover police are saying that the decedent had a gun in his hand, which "heightened the sense of threat to approaching police officers responding to the chaotic scene," according to their statement. They clarified that when they said he "brandished" a weapon, they meant he was holding a gun.

14. My view now is that he was not waving it wildly as I thought he might, but the police officer panicked and fired in the chaos when he saw a man with a gun. He happened to be black. I associate no racism with the assumption, but I am positive others will. It will be a problem.

15. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is doing the investigation due to a conflict with Hoover Police/Jefferson County Sheriff department (cousin of wife of incoming sheriff was an eyewitness), has the video, and they have not commented on when, if at all, they will release it.

[Doc]

Wpw, I knew nothing of this. On Thanksgiving sebatical. Glad your family is OK, but also sad that somebody else's child is not

[CitizenBBN]

Thanks for the update Darrell. As concise and informative as it can be, as always.

If the video shows he had a gun in his hand, it's still a tragedy, but a more understandable one. Police are still trained to identify themselves and demand they put down the gun, etc. and only shoot if they start to bring that gun up, but in that chaos it's more understandable that this guy may have had the gun, or may have even raised it but not intending to be threatening, and that an inexperienced officer may not have the same nerves of steel to wait for that last step of action by a suspect.

Who shot the girl should be more easy to document with forensics, depending on how much of it they can ID without removing it.

[Catfan73]

Thanks also Darrell.

[suncat05]

Stuff like this is exactly why I avoid shopping malls like the plague. There is nothing in any of those malls that I cannot buy online and have delivered to my desk at work or to my front door at my house.
My wife and daughter? Typical women. Wild horses couldn't drag either one of them out of a mall.
I hope the local police catch the shooter.

[Darrell KSR]

Will give a better update later after Hoover City Councilman issues a statement this morning. But in the meantime, E J Bradford's funeral is set for Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at Boutwell Auditorium.

It seats 5,000. Jesse Jackson is delivering the eulogy.

[Darrell KSR]

Basic update...

The Hoover City Councilman that was the spokesman today is the only African-American councilman. I suspect he was chosen for that reason. He urged "love, not hate." He said that Hoover has called upon the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to release all information, video, etc. by Monday, and that if they don't, Hoover will release what little they have themselves anyway for transparency.

He said his wife and daughter were there Thanksgiving night, hiding and texting him, too, and at that moment, it didn't matter if you were a councilman or anything.

[Darrell KSR]

**Breaking News -- authorities have announced they have captured the shooter, 20-year old Erron Brown.

[Catfan73]

Good news!

[suncat05]

Fox News radio said the alleged Birmingham Galleria shooter is in custody at this time.
No other information was given.

[Darrell KSR]

Suncat, Fox News is a little behind the times . It happened a couple of hours ago, and they gave the name of the shooter, Erron Brown. He's a former Jackson-Olin high school student, age 20, married.

I'm interested because I know a teacher at Jackson-Olin. I have not talked to her, but I'd be interested in getting her thoughts on the guy.

[suncat05]

Let's hope it's the right guy that the police have arrested.

[Darrell KSR]

I checked Alacourt and the guy already has a first degree robbery arrest on his record in 2017. It was nolle pross'd.

Let's hope it's the right guy that the police have arrested.

[Darrell KSR]

The guy. Screenshot_20181129-152027__01.jpg

[Darrell KSR]

A few tidbit updates if you're still following the story.

* Hoover police were willing to and had promised to release video and the information they had Monday, but recanted at the request of the investigating agency, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. I'm not sure that's a good move, but the reasoning behind it is sound. While the investigation is ongoing, they do not need to have video influence potential witnesses (one way or another), or otherwise have their testimony conform to something they see--which can be deceiving anyway.

* That has not gone over well in the protest community. There have been daily protests somewhere. At the mall (they had a lay down where E J Bradford was shot, simulating they were shot). At Sam's across the street. Shut down a movie theatre next to the Galleria. Last night they were at a Walmart in Hoover 1.5 miles away from the Galleria, and at Buffalo Wild Wings nearby. They temporarily shut down I-459/I65 last night as well. They have protested at the home of the mayor (and city councilmen?). They claim they will continue to protest daily. I'm not feeling the tension of an extreme blow-up, though, and the numbers aren't as large as I would have expected.

* The Hoover police officer's name who shot Bradford was (quietly?) released by a lead protestor yesterday. I have not seen the name mentioned in the traditional media, and I won't mention it either, although I know it. It is the person I was told initially. Of course, maybe they got the same information, and it's all bad info; I don't know. I think it is accurate. He has some experience, although not much at Hoover.

* The family paid for a private autopsy. The autopsy revealed Bradford was shot 3 times, all from the back. The death wound was a head shot.

* The NY Times and others have penned articles recently that has no new information, but they are taking a slant very much in favor of the family of the decedent. They are citing witnesses that say Bradford was helping others to safety when he was shot. They are saying that Hoover admitted it was a mistake (they have not admitted it was a mistake; just that they were mistaken that Bradford was the one who shot the 18-year old victim.) It hasn't helped.

* I had advised my family, out of an abundance of caution, not to go to Hoover right now. It's probably unnecessary. Nothing has indicated any tendency toward violence, although I have seen some of the protestors with a weapon. Then again, it isn't unusual to go into Walmart here--as I did day before yesterday--and see somebody open carry--as I did twice yesterday. It's Alabama, and we're gun-friendly for sure.

* The 12-year old girl, last I heard was doing well, and was going to be released. I think the same for the 18-year old shooting victim.

* The shooter was arrested in an Atlanta suburb. His attorney is Charles Salvagio. You may have heard years ago about a case in which an attorney claimed the "Viagra Defense" for his client who was charged with rape. The argument went that he "overdosed" on Viagra, and his penis naturally led him to an unwilling vagina. Or something like that. That was Charles Salvagio's case. I can't say for sure, as I don't remember, but I think he was one of my students I taught in law school. Except I didn't teach criminal law, because I don't know criminal law.

The Viagra Defense Case

More later.

[suncat05]

Darrell, while an investigation into a possible crime is still in progress, it is not a good idea to say anything publicly until it is complete. Or to release any known evidence orthe identities of and officers that may have been involved. And I know that you know that and agree as well.
But we also know that there are folks out there who don't give two hot squats about any kind of justice as long as they can incite a disturbance to further 'their agenda', which may not coincide with the criminal investigation and the correct administration of justice. And 'those people' are the troublemakers that are always gumming up the works and making a criminal investigation way more complicated and complex than it needs to be.
Should there be a complete accounting and 100% clear transparency? Yes, absolutely.
When the time is right, the entire story will come out and then everyone will know.

[Darrell KSR]

Latest update.

Protests are continuing nightly in Hoover, at various places. A group of protestors, fairly small, from 40-80 or so it seems from reports, get together and march through stores--Best Buy, Walmart, restaurants, etc. with their chants. The chants basically are things like "No Justice, no peace. If we don't get it, shut it down." That kind of thing.

Nothing really that bad except the interstate was briefly closed down (that may have been in a previous update), and there have been two reports of injuries; security guards at the Ross Bridge Hotel. Nothing serious, a sprained arm from trying to hold a door closed and not let them in, and a twisted knee from a fall, but first ramifications from otherwise peaceful protests.

Alabama State Attorney General today announced he was taking over the investigation due to the appearance of impropriety with the possible conflict of interest with the D.A., and the fact that the police officer who shot E.J. Bradford was either the charging officer or a witness in approximately 20 ongoing cases involving the D.A. On the flip side, he also said that some members were friends with the protestors, so either way, they needed to recuse themselves.

The protestor in chief, a 26-year old activist (Carlos Chaverst) issued a press release demanding the A.G. recuse himself due to their "friendly" relationship, producing a poster-sized pic of he and the attorney general, and said it wouldn't be fair. In addition to the pic, he said he had letters from him to the A.G. offering to work on his campaign, etc.

That's really about all. It's a nightly thing, but I'm not sensing much tension overall. I went to the Galleria last night after my class to go to Costco and fill up my tank with gas, and it seemed like traffic was way down, so they may be scaring off visitors.

[Catfan73]

Just read that the ‘independent’ autopsy of Bradford supposedly revealed that he was actually running away when shot from behind.

[Darrell KSR]

Just read that the ‘independent’ autopsy of Bradford supposedly revealed that he was actually running away when shot from behind.

See the post 3 posts above you...

[Catfan73]

I did and was aware that he was shot in the back, but I think “running away” adds a whole new dimension if true. If the video confirms that this officer might be in big trouble.