The father of a black man killed by a police officer during a shooting at an Alabama mall said his son had a permit to carry a gun for self-defence, adding it was hurtful police initially portrayed his son as the shooter.
Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., 21, was fatally shot by the officer responding to the Thanksgiving night shooting that wounded an 18-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl bystander. Hoover police initially said they thought Bradford, who was carrying a handgun, was responsible but later retracted that statement. They subsequently said it was unlikely that Bradford had done the shooting.
Bradford’s father, Emantic Bradford Sr., speaking Saturday night with The Associated Press, said the family wants to know if there is police body camera footage from the shooting. Police have not confirmed to AP whether such footage exists.
