Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson has called for an independent review of the Mobile Police Department’s use-of-force policies, procedures and training after a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by a SWAT officer during a pre-dawn raid on a Sheringham Drive home.
Stimpson asked former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama Kenyen Brown to lead the review hours after the raid. Brown will examine evidence from prior incidents as well, including body camera footage, and is expected to issue a public report with findings and recommendations within 90 days.
What Police Say Happened
According to police, officers from MPD’s Narcotics Unit and SWAT Team were serving a search warrant based on neighbor complaints about drug activity, supported by video and photographic evidence. Chief Paul Prine said officers announced themselves before entering — no-knock warrants are illegal in Alabama — and that inside the home, which held five or six residents including a child as young as 8, they encountered the teenager in a hallway pointing a laser-sighted handgun at an officer. An officer fired at least once, striking him in the lower torso; he died at a hospital.
Prine acknowledged the central question: “The question will always be and certainly understandable as to whether or not… the individuals or the occupants of the home knew it was the police.” He defended morning service for narcotics warrants, saying the combination of drugs and potential violence makes timing a safety consideration.
Police said the search turned up marijuana and two weapons. DeAngelo Adjessom, the 18-year-old relatives officers had been seeking, was not home during the raid and later turned himself in; he faces marijuana possession and firearms charges. The boy’s name has not been released, and body camera footage will not be made public until a grand jury reviews it.
New Limits on Pre-Dawn Warrants
In response, Stimpson imposed an immediate ban on pre-dawn search warrants unless there is a pressing need to protect human life; any exception requires approval from both the police chief and the public safety director. “I have unanswered questions about the events leading up to this tragic outcome, and I am taking immediate steps to get those answers,” Stimpson said.
The shooting was the fourth deadly encounter involving Mobile police that year. Three separate investigations are underway: MPD’s Criminal Investigation Unit, an administrative review by the Office of Professional Responsibility, and a referral of all evidence to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.