The video footage capturing the fatal shooting of Alvin Motley Jr. will not be released for now, a judge ruled Tuesday.
General Sessions Judge Louis Montesi Jr. issued a written order saying that the footage will not be released before a preliminary hearing set for September 28th takes place.
“In order to protect the right of the accused to a fair and impartial preliminary hearing and promote public trust in the integrity of the criminal justice system during the pendency of this court, it is the order of this court that until the court conducts a preliminary hearing for the defendant, the state is prohibited from releasing to or providing a copy of the audio and video recordings, which are the subject of the defendant’s motions, to the victim’s family or any member of the public,” the order reads in part.
The footage was shown to Motley’s family late last month, and they have since called for it to be publicly released.
Motley was allegedly fatally shot on August 7th by former Horn Lake police officer Gregory Livingston following a verbal altercation over loud music, police say. Livingston was charged with second degree murder and is currently in jail on a $1.8 million bond.
Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Motley family, said he is “disheartened” by the court’s decision.
“The court’s decision further delays the clarity, transparency, and answers that the family and community deserve,” Crump said in a statement. “Decisions like this one do nothing to improve public confidence in equal justice and due process as it relates to African Americans.
“We have never seen a video of a Black man killing a white man be blocked from public release out of concern for a fair and impartial jury for the defendant like we see here. The pursuit of justice for Alvin is far from over.”
