BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Parents of a black man who was shot to death by police who mistook him for a shooting suspect at an Alabama shopping mall are filing a federal lawsuit on the first anniversary of his death.
The parents of 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. joined lawyers at a news conference announcing the suit Friday.
Bradford’s mother, April Pipkins, says the lawsuit is meant to “bring change” so other families won’t have to endure what she’ been though.
A Hoover police officer shot Bradford after mistaking him for the person who fired shots at Alabama’s largest shopping mall on Thanksgiving night last year. Bradford had a gun, but relatives say he was a “good guy” assisting others after someone else opened fire.
Alabama’s attorney general cleared officers of any wrongdoing and the Justice Department didn’t bring federal charges.
