Police "saw a young black man with a gun" and shot him, said his father after the murder of the Galleria police

The family lawyer of EJ Bradford Jr., the 21-year-old man from Hueytown killed by a Hoover officer at the Riverchase Galleria Mall on Thanksgiving night, as a result of a conflict that culminated in the death of an 18-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl, says Eyewitnesses claimed that the police officer had not identified himself or had not given of verbal command before the shooting.

Benjamin Crump, Jr., the Florida-based and nationally-known family lawyer, also claims that, according to witnesses, Bradford would attempt to divert people from the place where the shooting took place, that his weapon was hidden in his belt, and while Bradford was dying on the floor of the Galleria Mall, the police had not allowed a nearby nurse to monitor him.

"The police could not see it as a solution, but EJ as a problem," Crump said Sunday morning at Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham, where he was accompanied by about 20 members from the Bradford family, whose parents, April Pipkins. and EJ Bradford, Sr.

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"[The officer] saw a young black man with a gun and he shot him. "

The family asks the investigators to broadcast all videos related to the event.

"All the videos, including the body cameras, so that they can know the truth by themselves," Crump said. "They demand the transparency and accountability of the person responsible for the murder of their son."

The family also demands a public apology from Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and police chief Nick Derzis after a press conference shortly after the murder. Bradford was first described as the shooter in the conflict that caused him. only one day later on the basis of "new evidence".

"How many times have we seen the police make a complete retraction?" Asked Crump.[Bradford’s] his family knew that he had not killed anyone. The officer was not only irresponsible, but the Hoover police pulled the trigger unjustifiably. "

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"To have [Bradford] marked a killer … they not only murdered the person, but they also murdered his character. He owes him an apology and a retraction as public as he was sentenced. "

Police revealed that the gunman was still on the run.

"There is a [shooter] because the police have sentenced their son, said Crump.

AL.com has contacted Hoover officials to obtain a response to the charges and requests, but has not yet received a response.

Crump also revealed that Bradford had been hit in the face. "There was no verbal command before they shot him in the face," Crump said.

At that moment, Bradford's grandmother, who was standing next to him, collapsed with grief.

"They shot her in the face," she shouted as she collapsed to the ground, surrounded by close family members.

While falling, she dropped Bradford's montage of images that she was holding in a glass frame, which cracked when he touched the ground.

"It's an emotional moment for everyone here," Crump said.

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"They shot my son in the head and let him bleed," said E.J. Bradford, father, former supervisor of the correctional services of the Birmingham Police Department. "It hurts me basically and I can not get it back."

"Thanksgiving will never be the same," said April Pipkins, Bradford's mother. "There is no way for a parent to have to do that."

Crump said the family would explore "all possible legal channels to obtain accountability from the person who killed their son".

"All parties," he said. "They want responsibility and justice and to make sure that it will not happen again."

This story will be updated.