21-Year-Old Killed in Alabama Mall Shot 3 Times in Back by Police: Autopsy

Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. smiles next to his mom.
Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. smiles next to his mom. (GoFundMe)

Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. had gone to the mall for early Black Friday shopping after dinner with his family when he was killed.

His family had commissioned the autopsy after the Alabama man was fatally shot in the back by Hoover police responding to gunfire at the Riverchase Galleria mall.

The autopsy report, conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., read, “The cause of death is gunshot wound of the head. The manner of death is homicide.”

The family sought a private autopsy after Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis announced Monday that body camera footage and mall surveillance video surrounding the shooting will not be released, saying it will compromise the investigation. Derzis said the information is not being released at the request of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). 

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