4 arrested after protest at Alabama mall over 2018 police shooting
Hoover AL Nov 28 2021 Four people were arrested Friday following a small protest inside the Riverchase Galleria.
The protest took place midday inside the Hoover mall in protest of the 2018 shooting death of Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford Jr., 21.
The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. on Nov. 22, 2018, while thousands were getting an early start at the Galleria, the largest mall in Alabama and a popular Black Friday destination for shoppers from around the state.
Gunfire erupted that night on the mall’s second story, injuring 18-year-old Brian Wilson and 12-year-old bystander Molly Davis moments before Hoover police fatally shot Bradford who they said was armed with a gun.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office in February 2019 ruled that Hoover Officer David Alexander was justified in the shooting.
The fatal shooting of Bradford prompted months of protests. Bradford was Black and Alexander is white.
On Friday, several protesters walked through the Black Friday crowds at the Galleria chanting, “Hoover murdered EJ. Don’t shop here.”
Hoover police Capt. Keith Czeskleba said four adult female protesters were asked by Galleria security officers to leave the mall and refused to do so.
At that point they were arrested on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. They were taken to the Hoover City Jail.
