Civil rights leaders and a Memphis, Tennessee, community are seeking justice for Alvin Motley, an unarmed Black man who was killed by a security guard at a gas station on Saturday. The security guard, Gregory Livingston, is accused of fatally shooting the nearly blind 48-year-old man after arguing over loud music, the Commercial Appeal reported.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump joined Motley's family members at a news conference on Tuesday, describing the killing as yet another example of slayings of unarmed Black men.
"Nobody has a right to kill a young Black man for playing music!" Crump said. "I don’t care how loud you think it is, you do not have a right to kill a young Black man for playing music."
Kevin Walters, a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, said Livingston was never licensed. According to Walters, Livingston applied for an armed security guard license in 2017, but the registration card was not issued because he didn't complete all requirements.
"His application has been denied due to violation of statute for working as an armed guard without registration card," Walters said about the guard, who filed a new application on Aug. 2.
As Livingston remains in jail, facing a second-degree murder charge for the shooting at the Kroger Fuel Center, activists are demanding a conviction. Van Turner, lawyer and president of the local NAACP, also called for Kroger and the security firm to discuss a settlement.
“We are deeply saddened, extremely angry and horrified by this senseless violence. Our hearts are with the Motley family. This tragic incident involved a third-party contractor onsite to provide security services at our Poplar Avenue Fuel Center," Kroger said in a statement. "We ask all third-party contractors to respect and honor our core values which include respect, diversity, and inclusion. We want to thank the Memphis Police Department for their swift action. The only outcome we seek is justice.”
Livingston, who was arrested on Sunday, confessed that he had shot Motley, an arrest affidavit states. The affidavit adds that Motley's girlfriend, Pia Foster, told police Livingston had initiated an argument about the volume of the music in the car.
"Foster had Motley get back into the car to leave, but Motley exited the car and walked toward the security guard. Pia Foster stated Motley told the security guard, 'Let's talk like men,'" police said.
According to the police report, the guard was seen on surveillance footage as he shot Motley, who was carrying a beer can and a lit cigarette. The family said Motley was in Memphis to visit his loved ones when the person he was with stopped to get gas, WREG reported. That's when the 54-year-old guard approached the car and asked them to turn down their music.
The family said Motley was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a disorder that caused him to nearly become blind. The 48-year-old was unable to drive because of his poor eyesight, according to his family.
Crump said Attorney General Amy Weirich agreed to show the surveillance footage to the family at a later point. The attorney referred back to the case of Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old Black teen who was killed by Michael David Dunn in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2012 after an argument over loud music. Loved ones found justice in Davis' case as Dunn was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
There was another high-profile case in September at the gas station where Motley died. In the September incident, a man pumping gas at the station shot two people who were trying to steal his vehicle, police said. A 16-year-old boy died of his injuries after being shot by the man, but the shooter's action was ruled as justified.
