MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A memorial was held for Alvin Motley on Thursday. Friends and family gathered to pay their respects to the Chicago native who was killed in Memphis on August 7.
Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump, local leaders Van Turner Jr. and Tam Sawyer, as well as Bishop Henry Williamson spoke on the life and unnecessary death of Alvin Motley.
Police say Motley was shot and killed by former Kroger security guard, Gregory Livingston, earlier this month following a dispute over loud music. A memorial was held in his honor Thursday in Memphis.
Ben Crump called for “transformative justice” in response to this tragedy. The attorney said that video evidence in this case should be released as soon as possible.
“Don’t say no more, just release the video,” Crump said. “Don’t say no more, just release the video.”
Crump, who is representing Motley’s family, believes that video being released is pivotal to ensuring the family gets justice.
“The timetable is gonna be how much pressure can we apply to say that we deserve truth and transparency,” Crump said. “Alvin Motley deserves truth and transparency.”
Following the memorial service, a protest was held in support of Motley, where demonstrators took their message directly to Kroger and continued to call for the release of the video.
“It’s gonna show that Alvin Motley Jr. was murdered senselessly murdered, he was unarmed and all he had was a beer and cigarettes,” said activist Paula Buress.
Since the shooting, Kroger cut ties with Allied Universal Security, the company that hired Livingston.
Livingston remains in jail on a bond set at $1.8 million dollars. His next court date is September 28.
