By Erica Wright
The Birmingham Times
Area pastors, community leaders, activists and citizens gathered Tuesday night at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in downtown Birmingham to hold a prayer vigil for 21-year-old Emantic Fitzgerald “E.J.” Bradford Jr. who was killed Thanksgiving night by a Hoover police officer inside the Riverchase Galleria.
The vigil drew Bradford’s parents, Emantic Bradford Sr. and April Pipkins, as well as noted civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump Jr. and members of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the National Action Network (NAN) and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Rev. Arthur Price Jr., pastor of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, opened the vigil with comments and a prayer.
“I don’t know about you all, but I’m feeling like Fannie Lou Hamer who said, ‘I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired’ with all the injustices and inequity that is going on in our society,” Price said. “I’m tired of young black men being killed and I’m sick and tired of people responding as though race has nothing to do with it.
“We came here today not to be angry because the Bible says you can be angry, but sin not… but we need to learn to turn that anger into advocacy. Tonight we advocate for truth, transparency and justice and for those victims who are voiceless and for healing not only for the family, but for the community at large.”
Funeral services for Bradford will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday Dec. 1 at the Boutwell Auditorium.
Following the Thanksgiving night shooting, Hoover police mistakenly claimed Bradford had fired shots at the mall, injuring two other people: an 18-year-old male who was shot twice and a 12-year-old girl was wounded and later transported to Children’s of Alabama.
“Loss Of Another Innocent”
Kira Fonteneau, local lawyer and Alabama American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Board Member, said every one, no matter what they look like, has a right for their constitutional rights to be upheld “but E.J. didn’t get those rights in the end and I’m here . . . to tell you, we need to feel safe in our community as everyone else is in their community.
Kevin Myles, NAACP Region Five Director, said he was “tired of us gathering to mourn the loss of another innocent, young life at the hands of police. I am tired of what comes next which is the conversation that we should ‘wait and reserve judgment until you have all of the facts’ but I’m wondering when it will be time to say that to the police.”
Benard Simelton, President of the Alabama State Conference NAACP, asked “when do we begin to respect young black men as human beings? They’re entitled to live in peace and harmony just like anyone else. Our law enforcement personnel have the responsibility to protect those in our community but when we go around shooting people under the precept that ‘oh I thought he was doing this’ . . .that is wrong in Birmingham, Alabama, that is wrong in Dallas, Texas, that is wrong in Chicago, Illinois and that is wrong in America.”
Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, who is also a representative of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) called for protesters to be organized and peaceful when they call for a boycott of the Riverchase Galleria as well as other large malls and stores.
“We’ve got to get together and organize and have trustworthy people at the table so when we organize we can address issues like this that come up,” she said.
“An Inspiration”
Crump, the family’s lawyer, challenged people to not just be there for the family while cameras are rolling, but to be there in the months after following the tragedy.
“When you think about who E.J. Bradford was, his father tells the story better than anybody of how his son was his best friend and was an inspiration and he’s battling cancer . . . and everyday E.J. would come and check on his father and say ‘daddy, we’re going to beat this cancer’ and who is going to come now to tell him and give him the inspiration to fight on. We have to fill the gap because it’s a village.”
Crump also talked about how E.J.’s mother said Thanksgiving will never be the same for the family and how when her son left on Thanksgiving Day she never thought that would be the last time she would see her son.
“When a child loses their parents, they’re orphans. When a spouse loses a spouse, they’re a widow but there is no word in the dictionary where the child has been lost to the parent and that is what this is about,” Crump said.
Protesters on Monday night held rallies at the Galleria, the Hoover Police station and marched along Highway 31 where they stopped traffic at times and on Tuesday night gathered in front of Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato’s home.
City and Police Joint Statement
This week, City of Hoover and Hoover Police Department officials released a joint statement on their respective Facebook pages saying they were “deeply and sincerely sympathetic to Mr. Bradford’s grieving family and all of those affected by this incident.”
They wrote: “We all want answers and we believe that with patience and focus, the truth will be firmly established. We want everyone who lives in, works in, works for, or visits Hoover to know that we are city that puts safety and respect in the highest regard for all citizens. We will be transparent throughout the course of this investigation.”
Hoover city and police officials said they will continue to support Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) in its investigation and pursue the initial shooter, who is still at large. They have also asked witnesses to come forward if they have any information about Thursday’s shooting.
ALEA issued a statement saying that its State Bureau of Investigation does not release information related to ongoing investigations. Once the SBI completes its investigation, the case will be turned over to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the statement said.
Updated at 3:05 p.m. on 12/2/2018 to correct Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson’s comments on the Galleria Mall. For a fuller correction click here
