Police officials said Officer A.C. Smith thought Greg Gunn looked suspicious walking in a residential neighborhood. “I want to be crystal clear”, Bailey said.
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In a press conference Sunday, Representative Alvin Holmes, along with other local and state leaders, called for the Montgomery District Attorney to file first degree murder charges against the Montgomery Police Officer who shot and killed Gregory Gunn Thursday.
Aaron “AC” Smith, 23, the officer, was arrested on murder charges Wednesday.
The AP quoted Mickey McDermott, Smith’s attorney, saying that the officer’s arrest was a “political witch hunt” conjured to “quell public unrest”.
At a Monday news conference, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said he couldn’t specify why Smith deemed Gunn suspicious but said all patrol officers were aware of a rash of burglaries in the area lately. But Gunn’s next-door neighbor Colvin Hinson told The Associated Press the stick was actually an extension handle for a paint roller that belonged to him. “Been there two or three weeks”, Colvin Hinson said Wednesday.
Montgomery police have said Smith was on routine patrol when he noticed what he believed to be a suspicious man walking down the street. “In fact, 99.9% of the Montgomery police officers do an exceptional job on a daily basis protecting us and our community”.
Late on Wednesday, Smith’s lawyer spoke to WSFA reporter Sally Pitts, lashing out at the indictment. He said earlier this week that Gunn attended a regular card game with friends on Wednesdays after he got off work, and he frequently walked from his friend’s house to his home a few blocks away, where he lived with his mother. Area residents, including family members of Gunn, protested at a Tuesday night City Council meeting and a press conference by Mayor Todd Strange Monday night. Most police officers in Montgomery have body cameras, but they need to be manually turned to record mode, they said. ‘Greg Gunn was in a community in which he was well-known and well-loved.
‘All this gentleman was doing was walking home, ‘ Means said.
Gunn was shot at 3:20 a.m. local time in front of a Montgomery home, Bailey said. At some point Smith fired his weapon and fatally struck Gunn.
Once the investigation is complete, Bailey will take the case to a grand jury, but he said that could take some time.
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Unusual said the crime scene was immediately sealed Thursday after Gunn was declared dead around 3.35am, and no police officers reviewed any potential camera footage at the scene.
