Alabama teen shot and killed by police, family says victim of ‘uncontrolled culture of excessive force’

The mother of the shot 16-year-old teenager Police special forces during a pre-dawn raid in Mobile, filed a lawsuit against the wrongful police officers and the city of Mobile, claiming the teenager was “murdered in cold blood.”

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

The Mobile Police Department wiretapped SWAT officers because the narcotics unit was understaffed, according to the complaint.

Agessom came out of his bedroom with a gun, which he pointed at the officers, but then later retreated with his hands up when he realized he was facing law enforcement, the complaint said, citing sealed body camera footage.

The unnamed officer shot Agessom four times within 11 seconds of entering his home. The lawsuit alleged that police did not provide adequate medical care to Agessom, who did not arrive at the emergency room, an eight-minute drive away, until 50 minutes after he was injured.

According to the complaint, Agessom’s family members were forced to stay in the living room for hours before they were told that the officer had shot Agessom.

“They’re supposed to be peace officers, right? How many more black boys like Randall will have to be buried after police brutality before MPD’s storied culture of unchecked excessive force finally ends,” Ajessom’s mother, Akuwi Ajessom, 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 spokesman for the police department did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Prohibition 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, which led to mass protests over racial bias. injustice in police activity.

in 2021, the Ministry of Justice has changed its policy to limit the use of prohibited warrants by requiring agents to obtain authorization from federal prosecutors and a supervising law enforcement agent.

Elizabeth A. Bailey, Cynthia B. Morgan and Steven A. Medina, attorneys for Agessom’s mother, described his death as an “unquestionably predictable and preventable tragedy.”

Ajess was one of four high-profile police killings this caused a public outcry in Mobile and eventually led to an investigation of the Mobile Police Department by former federal prosecutor Kenyon Brown at the request of Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The investigation culminated in a more than 100-page, partially redacted report released in May based on interviews, a review of department policies and body camera footage.

The investigation looked into Agessom’s killing and found that the officer who shot him consented to the use of force because Agessom was armed and posed a threat. The report did not specify whether Ajessom 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 properly prioritize the “sanctity of life.”

Officers conducting the raid had a “preconceived notion” that the residents of Agessom’s home were dangerous, even though “there was no indication that any of the residents had a history of violence and the victim’s only crime was marijuana use,” the report said.

In addition, the report cited frequent incidents of officer misconduct in the city.

“There are numerous constitutional violations, including handcuffing a suspect, repeatedly tampering with or attempting to tamper with a cell phone, humiliating suspects with deadly force during press conferences, illegal and unconstitutional detentions without just cause,” Brown said. .

Ultimately, the report did not recommend that the Justice Department investigate the police department, arguing that local law enforcement agencies are willing to implement their own reforms. In March, the resolution, which prohibited warrants did not pass the Mobile City Council.