officer violence

A district attorney said Wednesday that an Alabama police officer who fatally shot a teenager in the back was justified in his use of deadly force because the youth grabbed a gun after struggling with the officer. But the teen’s family questioned that conclusion and said they have many unanswered questions about what had happened.

The death of an unarmed 52-year-old man who died after an Alabama police officer kneeled on his neck was ruled a homicide by a county coroner, according to an official autopsy reviewed by The Associated Press. The finding led lawyers representing Phillip Reeder's family on Monday to compare his death to that of George Floyd in 2020.

Lawyers representing the family of a Black teenager shot and killed by police in an Alabama suburb said the state's refusal to release body-camera video during an investigation is fueling mistrust over the shooting.

An Alabama judge is ruling that a police officer was not acting in self-defense when he shot an armed Black man who was standing in his own front yard. Body camera footage shows the officer shooting 18 bullets less than two seconds after identifying himself as law enforcement.

Two Alabama sheriff’s deputies are being indicted on charges of using excessive force against a man who later died of sepsis and hypothermia in a local jail. At least 10 Walker County jail employees have pleaded guilty to charges related to the death of 33-year-old Tony Mitchell.

Alabama lawmakers are advancing a bill that would make it harder to sue police who use excessive or lethal force. Sponsors of the bill said the legislation will increase officer recruitment and improve officer safety.

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — Police say an armed black business owner who called to report a robbery in his store in Alabama was punched in the face by a…