Can Kroger be Held Accountable after a White Security Guard Fatally Shot a Black Man? Unlike Cops Private Security Have No Immunity, No Right to Initiate Unprovoked Violence and Can Actually be Fired

From [HERE] The killing of a Black man named Alvin Motley at a Kroger gas station in Memphis is drawing attention from prominent national civil rights attorneys and organizations and the slain man's family members told reporters Tuesday that Motley was nearly blind, unarmed and not a threat, our Daniel Connolly, Samuel Hardiman and Micaela Watts report.

A security guard is accused of arguing with the 48-year-old Motley over loud music, then fatally shooting him. Attorneys working with the family said they want immediate civil settlement negotiations with grocery giant Kroger and a third-party company who employed the security guard. [MORE]

Surveillance video showed Motley, holding a beer can and lit cigarette, walking toward the White guard. “Let’s talk like men,” Motley said, according to what his girlfriend told officers.

A shot rang out, and Motley fell to the ground. The 48-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced Tuesday he will take on the case. It is not yet clear what company hired Livingston and could bear the liability for his actions. Kroger and a security company the grocer uses both say Livingston was hired by third-party contractors.

Crump implored Kroger to use its influence to “make this right” and hire security guards who don’t “don’t profile Black people and kill them for playing music.”

“If we don’t hear from you, we will be calling for people to boycott Kroger over the unjustified killing of Alvin Motley,” he said at the news conference.

It’s unclear which company initially hired Livingston.

A large security company called Allied Universal, which contracts with Kroger, told the Commercial Appeal it didn’t hire Livingston. He was hired by one of the company’s subcontractors, a spokesperson said.

Allied Universal said it has terminated all business with the third-party contractor, though it did not name the contractor.

Kroger, in a statement, said: “We ask all third-party contractors to respect and honor our core values which include respect, diversity, and inclusion.”

Crump said that as Livingston was a representative of Kroger, the supermarket chain should take responsibility.

“The safety of your customers is a non-delegable duty,” he said.