Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced today that his office determined a Hoover police officer did not violate any state laws in fatally shooting E.J. Bradford, Jr. on November 22, 2018. Attorney General Marshall went further, declaring that the officer “reasonably exercised his official powers” in killing Bradford. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc (LDF) sent a letter in December to Jay E. Town, U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Alabama, calling for a federal investigation into the shooting. Following today’s announcement, LDF renewed that request.
Todd A. Cox, Director of Policy at LDF, provided the following statement:
“The Alabama Attorney General’s determination is as infuriating as it is unsurprising. E.J. Bradford, Jr.’s life was needlessly taken by Hoover police, and the state Attorney General’s report still leaves questions unanswered. The lack of accountability in fatal police shootings – which painfully is all-too-familiar to communities of color across the country – undermines faith in law enforcement and the promise of equal protection under the law. The U.S. Department of Justice must intervene to provide an independent account of what transpired, and, more importantly, accountability for those responsible. Communities in Hoover, Montgomery, and across the country deserve action and answers.
“Put simply: Bradford did everything right. Yet his name was still wrongly maligned, and, worse still, his family will forever be deprived of his presence. Our hearts are with his loved ones and all those marching in the streets in Alabama, who continue to fight for justice in his name.”
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
