MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The mother of a 16-year-old who was shot by SWAT police during a no-knock, predawn raid in Alabama, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the police officers involved and the city of Mobile, alleging the teenager was “killed in cold blood.”
Randall Adjessom, 16, was sleeping in his childhood home when SWAT police 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. Adjessom’s mother, aunt, grandmother and three sisters — two of whom were also minors — were also in the house. The warrant was executed as part of an investigation into Adjessom’s older brother for suspected marijuana possession and distribution, according to the complaint. The 16-year-old was not a suspect; his older brother was not there and didn’t live at the home.
The Mobile Police Department tapped SWAT officers because the narcotics unit was understaffed, according to the complaint.
Adjessom came out of his bedroom with a gun that he pointed at the officers, but then subsequently retreated with his hands up once he realized he was confronting law enforcement, 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 did not provide adequate medical attention to Adjessom, who did not arrive at an emergency room that was eight minutes away until 50 minutes after he was shot.
Adjessom’s family members were forced to stay in the living room for hours before they were informed that an officer shot Adjessom, according to the complaint.
“They’re supposed to be peace officers, aren’t they? How many more young Black boys like Randall have to be buried following police brutality before the MPD’s legendary culture of unchecked excessive force is finally put to rest,” said Adjessom’s mother, Akouvi Adjessom, in a statement on 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 agents to enter a home without announcing their presence — have come under scrutiny in recent years after Louisville, Kentucky, police killed Breonna Taylor in her home in March 2020, leading to mass protests over racial injustice in policing.
In 2021, the Justice Department changed its policy to limit the use of no-knock warrants, requiring agents to get approval from federal prosecutors and a supervisory law enforcement agent.
Elizabeth A. Bailey, Cynthia B. Morgan and Steven A. Medina, attorneys for Adjessom’s mother, characterized his death as an “unquestionably foreseeable and preventable tragedy.”
Adjessom was one of four high-profile police killings that sparked a public outcry in Mobile and eventually led to an investigation into the Mobile Police Department by former federal prosecutor Kenyen Brown at the request of Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The investigation culminated in an over 100-page partially redacted report published in May based on interviews, a review of department policy and body-camera footage.
The investigation looked into Adjessom’s killing and found that the officer who shot him complied with the city’s use of force 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 search warrant before dawn did not adequately prioritize “the sanctity of life.”
The officers conducting the raid had a “preconceived notion” that the occupants in Adjessom’s home were dangerous even though “there was no indication that any of the occupants had violent histories, and the target’s only felony was for marijuana,” the report said.
The report additionally cited frequent misconduct among officers in the city.
“There are numerous constitutional violations including the beating of a handcuffed suspect, the going into or the attempt to go into cell phones repeatedly, the denigration of suspects of deadly force during press conferences, the illegal and unconstitutional detentions without probable cause,” Brown said.
The report ultimately did not recommend that the Department of Justice investigate the police department, saying that local law enforcement was willing to implement its own reforms. In March, an ordinance that would have banned no-knock warrants failed to pass in the Mobile city council.
___
Safiyah Riddle is a corps 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.