ACLU and ACLU of Alabama Statement on Decision Not to Prosecute Police Officer Who Shot E.J. Bradford in the Back

MONTGOMERY – The Attorney General of Alabama today issued a report declining to prosecute the police officer who shot and killed E.J. Bradford, a Black man who according to witnesses was trying to protect people during an active shooting at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Al. The officer’s name has not been publicly released.

Dillon Nettles, ACLU of Alabama Policy Analyst, issued the following statement:

“The Attorney General’s characterization of E.J. Bradford as a ‘threat’ that needed ‘eliminating’ reveals how little regard the Attorney General has for the life of this Black man. Regardless of what the Attorney General of Alabama said in his report, E.J. Bradford’s life mattered. Black lives matter. We won’t stay quiet while law enforcement continues to inflict lethal violence against Black people and attempt to justify it.

“Police officers need to be held accountable when they shoot and kill innocent people. The deaths of people like Bradford are a constant reminder of the threat people of color face in a country where Black men are three times more likely ­­to be killed by police than white men.

“Meanwhile, the NRA and President Trump continue to make the claim that a ‘good guy with a gun’ can stop active shooter situations, but they have offered no such praise for Bradford. Their silence is another way to hide and sanction racialized violence against Black people. We demand they either respond to the Attorney General’s decision or acknowledge that their claims do not apply to Black people with a gun.

“We are reviewing the report and will determine appropriate next steps.”