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Cop Shoots Defendant in Alabama Courtroom

Police say he attacked judge, but witnesses disagree

By the Associated Press

Posted Feb 3, 2011 3:20 PM CST

(AP) – A police officer shot and wounded a man who was in court on a harassment charge today after authorities say he attacked a judge and tried to grab a gun from a spectator. Some people who were in the courtroom disputed that account, saying they did not see the man hit or threaten the judge or attempt to grab a weapon. Sara Williams said she was sitting in the front row when the man, whom she knew, got agitated after the judge fined him $800. He was wearing a cast on his leg and waved one of his crutches in the air.

"The police were hollering for him to get down" when an officer opened fire, she said. Williams said she yelled, "Don't shoot him no more!" right before the officer fired again. Afterward, she and more than a dozen people stood across the street from City Hall chanting, "We want justice." Witnesses identified the man who was shot as Bryant Keith Ford of Goodwater.

Alabama state Trooper Chad Joiner talks with a crowd gathered across the street from Goodwater City Hall where a shooting occurred, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, in Goodwater, Ala.
Alabama state Trooper Chad Joiner talks with a crowd gathered across the street from Goodwater City Hall where a shooting occurred, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, in Goodwater, Ala.   (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Joe Songer)
Officials enter the Goodwater City Hall in Goodwater, Ala., following a shooting in the building, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011.
Officials enter the Goodwater City Hall in Goodwater, Ala., following a shooting in the building, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011.   (AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser, Mickey Welsh)
A small crowd gathers across the street from Goodwater City Hall where a shooting occurred, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, in Goodwater, Ala.
A small crowd gathers across the street from Goodwater City Hall where a shooting occurred, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, in Goodwater, Ala.   (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Joe Songer)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 28 comments
cwm32
Feb 4, 2011 11:59 AM CST
I am sure he deserved it. The biased witness has her own agenda in all this. That's what you get when you have suspended intelligent thought. haha.
Dro_Trebor
Feb 4, 2011 6:43 AM CST
I would not be black in this country for all the money in the world. Having said that, what level of insanity does it take to lose your cool in front of a judge? I wouldn't necessarily expect to be shot, but even waiving a crutch at a judge is going to compound your problems in pretty obvious ways. Dude was in there for some minor crime and got an $800 penalty. It happens. Go on home. Making threats or threatening gestures in a courtroom lands you in felony territory. That's jail, if you're lucky. If you aren't lucky, you get shot.
Observer
Feb 3, 2011 8:27 PM CST
Cops are criminals.

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