A new federal lawsuit details how an Alabama teenager, asleep in his childhood bedroom, was fatally shot when a police SWAT team broke down the front door of his family’s home.
Randall Adjessom, 16, was left bleeding in the hallway for over four minutes during an unauthorized, pre-dawn “no-knock” raid by the Mobile Police Department on Nov. 13, 2023, the lawsuit claims.
According to the complaint, Adjessom woke up to the sound of officers breaking into the home and smashing a living room window. Unaware that the intruders were police, he grabbed a gun and left his bedroom, intent on protecting his mother, grandmother, aunt, and sisters.
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As he rounded a corner and saw the officers, Adjessom reportedly raised his hands and began backing toward his bedroom. Moments later, an officer shot him four times, striking him in the chest and torso, the complaint states.
Body camera footage, which has not been publicly released, reportedly shows Adjessom with his hands raised, posing no threat, according to the family’s attorneys who reviewed the footage. The raid was allegedly conducted to search for marijuana supposedly tied to Adjessom’s older brother, who did not live at the residence.
The lawsuit also alleges that officers lacked court authorization to search the home at that hour.
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Racial motivation is cited as a factor in the lawsuit filed by Grant & Eisenhofer, the law firm representing Adjessom’s family. “The raid and killing of Randall were rooted in systemic patterns of excessive force against Black boys and men,” the firm said in a Dec. 23 statement.
“I still cannot believe Randall is gone,” his mother, Akouvi Adjessom, said in a statement. “We have love for Mobile and its people, but we deserve to be treated fairly, equally, and with respect by the police.”
The family’s attorneys described the incident as a “cold-blooded” killing. They claim that body camera footage reveals Adjessom retreating after realizing the intruders were police, only to be fatally shot.
The lawsuit alleges officers failed to immediately provide medical aid. Instead, they detained family members in another room and did not inform them that Adjessom had been shot. His mother learned of his death hours later during questioning at a police station, where she was shown a photo of her son, the lawsuit says.
Adjessom was transported to a hospital roughly 40 minutes after the shooting, despite it being an eight-minute drive from the home. He died at the hospital.
The Mobile Police Department and the city of Mobile declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. Adjessom is survived by his parents, two brothers, and four sisters. His obituary describes him as a loving presence who brought joy to everyone who knew him.
“They’re supposed to be peace officers, aren’t they?” Akouvi Adjessom asked. “How many more young Black boys like Randall must be buried before the MPD’s culture of unchecked excessive force is finally addressed?”
