Attorney Ben Crump discusses the results of a forensic examination on Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., who was fatally shot by police in a shopping mall on Thanksgiving day, during a news conference in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. Crump, who represents Bradford's family, says a report shows the 21-year-old black man suffered three gunshot wounds to the back side of his body. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A forensic examination shows a black man was shot three times in the back side of his body when an Alabama police officer mistook him for the shooter after gunfire erupted at a crowded shopping mall, the man's family said Monday.
The results of a report commissioned by the family are "devastating" to relatives of Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., their lawyer, Ben Crump, said at an emotional news conference.
Emantic Bradford Sr. angrily jabbed his finger at the TV cameras as he addressed the unnamed officer, saying: "You're a coward!"
The officer in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover should be charged with homicide, Bradford said, "because this is murder."
The Rev. Jesse Jackson also attended the news conference at The Rock, a small church EJ Bradford attended in north Birmingham. Jackson said authorities' refusal to release video evidence smacks of a cover-up.
Police in Hoover reiterated Monday that they won't release officer video or other evidence about the Thanksgiving night killing until the state investigation is complete. They released a letter from state investigators expressing concern that the investigation could be jeopardized or hindered if information is released.
A statement from the city, a Birmingham suburb of 85,000 people, didn't directly address the findings of the family's forensic examination but said the Bradfords should share it with authorities. Crump said they already had.
Crump said the forensic pathologist hired by the family determined Bradford was struck by one gunshot that entered the rear of his skull; another that hit the back of his neck; and a third that penetrated his lower back.
The report didn't indicate the order of the shots, and the pathologist's report did not indicate whether more than one person shot Bradford.
But Crump said any of the three shots could have killed the 21-year-old.
"There were three kill shots," Jackson said.
Police initially described Bradford as the person who opened fire at the mall as Black Friday shopping began on Thanksgiving night, and authorities called the officer a hero for his swift response.
Officials then backtracked, saying Bradford wasn't the initial shooter. They said Bradford had a handgun visible after the initial gunfire, and the city and police said that action increased the threat level for responding officers.
Protests have occurred almost daily since the shooting, and a number of people showed up at the Hoover City Council meeting Monday night. Council members adjourned the meeting after demonstrators in the audience repeatedly shouted "EJ" and "no justice, no peace."
City council members had a statement read earlier in the evening saying they wanted to "formally express their regret for the misinformation provided to the public that later implicated (Bradford) as the shooter" and to offer sympathy to Bradford's family.
Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, of Bessemer was arrested last week in Georgia on charges of shooting a teenager who was wounded at the mall, 18-year-old Brian Xavier Wilson of Birmingham. Authorities transferred him from Atlanta to the county jail in Birmingham on Monday.
A girl also was shot and wounded, but authorities haven't filed charges in her case.
Emantic Bradford Sr. discusses the results of a forensic examination on his son Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., who was fatally shot by police in a shopping mall on Thanksgiving day, during a news conference in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. The family's lawyer, Ben Crump, looks on from the right. A report released by the family shows the 21-year-old black man suffered three gunshot wounds to the back side of his body. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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Protestors carry a sign reading âJustice for E.J.â during a protest at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. A police shot and killed 21-year-old Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr. of Hueytown while responding to a shooting at the mall on Thanksgiving evening. Police said Bradford was fleeing the scene with a weapon. Hoover police initially told reporters Bradford had shot a teen at the mall, but later retracted the statement. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)
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The parents of shooting victim Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., Emantic Bradford Sr. and April Pipkins, flank attorney Ben Crump during a community event in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. Police in suburban Hoover shot and killed their son in a shopping mall on Thanksgiving night, and the parents say they've yet to receive official confirmation by the city of what happened. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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In this still image taken from video, April Pipkins holds a photograph of her deceased son, Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., during an interview in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. Bradford was shot to death by a police officer in a shopping mall on Thanksgiving night, and Pipkins said she believes her son would still be alive had he been white. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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Hoover City Council member Derrick Murphy gestures during a news conference in Hoover, Ala., on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Murphy said the city is asking the state for permission to release information about the fatal police shooting of a black man in Alabama's largest shopping mall on Thanksgiving. The city has been targeted by demonstrations since the shooting. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato speaks during an appearance in Hoover, Ala., on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. The city is asking the state for permission to release information about the fatal police shooting of a black man in Alabama's largest shopping mall on Thanksgiving. The city has been targeted by demonstrations since the shooting. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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FILE - In this Rev. Jesse Jackson addresses media regarding the Progressive National Baptist Convention voter engagement campaign, at their meeting in New Orleans. Jackson delivered the eulogy Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, for an African-American man shot to death by a police officer following a shooting at a crowded Alabama shopping mall. Jackson said the Hoover police officer who shot Emantic "EJ" Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., 21, "must face justice" and urged authorities to release tapes of the shooting. "No one is above the law," Jackson said. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
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This undated image provided by Emantic Bradford, Sr. shows Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr., 21, posing for a picture at his father's home near Birmingham, Ala., in his senior year of high school. About 200 people marched through an Alabama shopping mall to protest Bradford Jr.'s death, whom police erroneously believed was the gunman who shot and wounded two people. The protesters gathered at the spot at the mall in suburban Birmingham where he was shot and killed after reports of gunfire. Police initially thought Bradford Jr. was responsible for shooting two people but later retracted that statement. (Emantic Bradford, Sr. via AP)
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Elijah King holds a sign during a protest at the Riverchase Galleria mall in Hoover, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, over the police shooting of 21-year-old Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr. of Hueytown. Police were responding to a shooting that wounded an 18-year-old and 12year-old. Police initially said Bradford shot the teen that evening, but later said he was not the gunman. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)
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Emantic Bradford Sr. discusses the results of a forensic examination on his son Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., who was fatally shot by police in a shopping mall on Thanksgiving, during a news conference in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. A report released by the family shows the 21-year-old black man suffered three gunshot wounds to the back side of his body. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
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This Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 booking photograph provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Birmingham, Ala., shows Erron Brown, who is charged with attempted murder in a shooting at a shopping mall on Thanksgiving. Police in Hoover, Ala., shot and killed another black man, Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., mistaking him for the shooter after the shots rang out. (AP Photo/Jefferson County Sheriff's Office)
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