When he was alive, 16-year-old Randall Adjessom was many things. Kind. Gentle. Resourceful. Caring. Smart. Selfless. That’s how his big sister, Jenice, saw him. “We loved him, and he loved us beyond belief,” she remembers. And on November 13, 2023, Randall was being one more thing: protective.
Around 5:30 a.m., a loud noise outside his home in Mobile, Alabama, woke Randall, grandmother, mother, sisters, and aunt. Thinking quickly, he jumped out of bed, grabbed his gun, and moved towards the source. When he realized the intruders were cops, he put his hands up and backed away. But within seconds, police shot him four times.
They left him writhing and bleeding out for minutes before helping him. An ordinance banning no-knock raids failed to pass in Mobile last year. Now, the Adjessoms are suing.
When police kill, we often guard a Black victim’s image, anticipating villainization and slander. But guilt and innocence are fluid categories. Overcorrecting to prove our innocence sometimes strips us of our agency.
To police, the gun in Randall’s hand made him a “criminal.” But there’s another version of the story where he’s a hero, bravely stepping forward to protect the women in his family. Self-defense and community defense are threats to the police system. Inspired by Randall’s courage, how can we practice it where we are?