MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Will video of a controversial deadly shooting be released to the public?
That is what General Sessions Court Judge Louis J. Montesi, Jr. will rule on September 7. Special prosecutor Glenn Funk wants the video that shows security guard Gregory Livingston shoot and kill Alvin Motley at a Kroger gas station in east Memphis August 7 released. Judge Montesi entered a temporary restraining order that prohibits the State’s release of the video to the family and the public.
Police say Livingston, who was working as a security guard at the Kroger fuel center at 6660 Poplar Avenue, got into an argument with Alvin Motley about loud music coming from the man’s car. Police said Motley had a beer can in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other as he walked toward Livingston and said, “let’s talk like men." Livingston then drew a handgun and shot Motley in the chest. Livingston is charged with second-degree murder.
Nashville-area district attorney Glenn Funk was appointed to handle the investigation because Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich recused herself from the probe because an investigator in her office had an off-duty job with the security company involved in the case, and the investigator might be a witness in the prosecution.
Civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump released the following statement: “The judge’s decision to delay the release of the video in this case is deeply upsetting to the family and the community. This video shows the cold, hard truth in this case: another Black man was killed unjustifiably by a white man with too much power. Alvin wasn’t a threat and he wasn’t breaking a single law by sitting in the passenger seat of the car, listening to hip hop music. The facts of this case are clear as day. So, why is there so much effort being made to hide them? We demand justice and transparency for Alvin Motley and his family. We won’t rest until they’ve received the justice they deserve.”
