Overview
- Police were dispatched just after 5 p.m. on Oct. 29 to a residence in the 600 block of Brunson Avenue in Birmingham’s Zion City neighborhood for a report of a violent person with possible weapons.
- The person shot was identified in reporting as 36-year-old Vanessa Ragland, who was transported to UAB Hospital and pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m.
- ALEA Capt. Jeremy Burkett said an officer used less-lethal force during a struggle before firing a gun, and he said Ragland was unarmed.
- No officers were injured in the incident, and the State Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case with findings to be forwarded to prosecutors.
- Family members dispute key details, saying Ragland was autistic, intervened to protect her mother, and was shot while returning a Taser, a claim investigators have not corroborated.