Alabama Cop Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man

Montgomery police officer Aaron Smith, 23, is in custody, with bond set at $150,000.

A 23-year-old White officer with the Montgomery, Alabama police department has been charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed Black man.

Aaron Smith was in custody Wednesday, with bond set at $150,000. The arrest came after Greg Gunn, 58, was gunned down about 3:30 a.m.Thursday outside a neighbor’s home, reports The Associated Press:

Police Chief Ernest Finley said on Monday Smith deemed Gunn “suspicious,” left his car and approached Gunn on foot. The Gunn family’s attorney Tyrone Means said Gun was walking home from a friend’s house at the time.

Authorities initially said Gunn was holding a stick or cane and the two men had struggled. But a neighbor of Gunn tells The Associated Press the stick was actually an extension handle for a paint roller that belonged to him.

“He didn’t have anything, other than the cane they was talking about was my paint cane laying right there. Been there two or three weeks,” Colvin Hinson said Wednesday.

It was unclear if Smith had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf, notes the report.

SOURCE: CBS News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform