The family of a teenager fatally shot by police during a no-knock raid sues Alabama city

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The mother of a 16-year-old shot by SWAT police during a pre-dawn raid in Alabama has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the police officers involved and the city of Mobile, claiming the teen “was in cold conditions murdered’. blood.”

Randall Adjessom, 16, was asleep in his family home when SWAT police used a battering ram to break down his front door on Nov. 13, 2023, just after 5:30 a.m., while it was still dark outside. Adjessom’s mother, aunt, grandmother and three sisters – two of whom were also minors – were also in the house. The arrest warrant was executed as part of an investigation into Adjessom’s older brother for suspected marijuana possession and distribution, the complaint said. The 16-year-old was not a suspect; his older brother was not there and did not live in the house.

According to the complaint, the Mobile Police Department called in SWAT officers because the narcotics unit was understaffed.

Adjessom emerged from his bedroom with a gun that he pointed at the officers, but then retreated with his hands up when he realized he was dealing with police, the complaint said, citing sealed body camera footage.

An unnamed officer shot Adjessom four times within 11 seconds of entering his home. The lawsuit alleged that police failed to provide adequate medical attention to Adjessom, who arrived at an emergency room eight minutes away only 50 minutes after he was shot.

Adjessom’s family members had to remain in the living room for hours before they were told an officer had shot Adjessom, the complaint said.

‘They’re peace officers, right? How many more young black boys like Randall need to be buried after police brutality before the MPD’s legendary culture of unchecked excessive force is finally laid to rest,” Adjessom’s mother, Akouvi Adjessom, said in a statement Monday.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Mobile, names the city and unidentified officers as defendants and seeks unspecified damages. The city attorney and a spokesperson for the police department did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

“No-knock” warrants — which allow law enforcement officers to enter a home without announcing their presence — have come under scrutiny in recent years after police in Louisville, Kentucky, killed Breonna Taylor in her home in March 2020, leading to mass protests over racist statements. police injustice.

In 2021 changed the Department of Justice its policy of limiting the use of “no-knock warrants,” which require officers to get approval from federal prosecutors and a supervising law enforcement agent.

Elizabeth A. Bailey, Cynthia B. Morgan and Steven A. Medina, attorneys for Adjessom’s mother, characterized his death as an “indisputably foreseeable and preventable tragedy.”

Adjessom was one of four high-profile police killings that sparked public outrage in Mobile and ultimately led to an investigation of the Mobile Police Department by former federal prosecutor Kenyen Brown at the request of Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The investigation culminated in a partially redacted report of more than 100 pages published in May based on interviews, a review of department policies and body camera footage.

The investigation looked into Adjessom’s murder and determined that the officer who shot him complied with the city’s use of force law because Adjessom was armed and posed a threat. The report did not specify whether Adjessom was retreating with his hands up when he was shot.

However, the investigation also concluded that the decision to execute the pre-dawn search warrant did not give sufficient priority to “the sanctity of life.”

The officers who conducted the raid had the “prejudice” that the residents of Adjessom’s home were dangerous, even though there was “no indication that any of the residents had a violent history, and the target’s only crime was marijuana,” according to the report.

The report also noted frequent misconduct among officers in the city.

“There are numerous constitutional violations, including handcuffing a suspect, repeatedly interfering or attempting to interfere with cell phones, disparaging suspects of deadly force during press conferences, and the illegal and unconstitutional detentions without probable cause,” said Brown. .

The report ultimately did not recommend that the Justice Department investigate the police because local law enforcement was willing to implement its own reforms. In March, an ordinance that would have banned stay-at-home orders failed to pass the Mobile City Council.

___

Safiyah Riddle is a staff member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.