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Local sheriff asks FBI to investigate death of Black man found hanging in Alabama

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Local sheriff asks FBI to investigate death of Black man found hanging in Alabama


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The FBI is investigating the death of a Black man in Alabama, who was found hanging in an abandoned house, following a request from a local sheriff amid fears among community members who accuse local law enforcement of longstanding, unchecked misconduct.

Sheriff’s deputies found Dennoriss Richardson, 39, in September in a rural part of Colbert County, miles away from his home in Sheffield, a city of approximately 10,000 people near the Tennessee River.

The Colbert County Sheriff’s Office ruled Richardson’s death a suicide. But Richardson’s wife, Leigh Richardson, has said that is not true, explaining her husband did not leave a note and had no connection to the house where he was found.

Instead, the 40-year-old fears her husband’s death was related to a lawsuit he filed against the local police department in February. Dennoriss Richardson, who coached kids in baseball and football, had alleged he was assaulted, denied medical attention, sprayed with tear gas and shocked with a Taser while in jail.

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Leigh Richardson said she is not accusing a specific person but is adamant her husband didn’t kill himself.

She is not alone in her belief. Widespread skepticism about Richardson’s death underscores deep-seated distrust of local law enforcement in Colbert County. In a region where hanging invokes a long history of state-sanctioned lynchings for Black people, residents in the county allege a pattern of excessive force among local law enforcement.

Sheriff Eric Balentine, who confirmed the FBI accepted his request to investigate, said his department “exhausted all resources” in its investigation.

“We feel confident in what our findings were, but we feel like by doing this we can give the family more peace of mind,” Balentine said.

A spokesperson for the FBI’s field office in Birmingham confirmed the FBI is aware of Dennoriss Richardson’s death and is reviewing the allegations of criminal misconduct.

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Tori Bailey, the president of the local NAACP chapter and the only Black member of the six-person county commission in Colbert County, said the community’s reaction to Richardson’s death was partially informed by the region’s harrowing history with lynchings.

In Alabama, there were 359 reported lynchings between 1877 and 1943, according to the Equal Justice Initiative, a criminal justice reform nonprofit. In Colbert County alone, there were 11.

Bailey said, although there may be nothing to these accusations, it makes sense the community would have a “visceral” reaction to a Black man hanging and want a more thorough investigation. She said while some officers are trying to do the right thing, in her 12 years as NAACP president she has documented and investigated many cases of excessive force in the county.

“There has long been a kind of disconnect between communities of color and law enforcement. Unfortunately, many of us do not feel that law enforcement is actually there to serve and protect,” Bailey said.

Marvin Long, a 57-year-old Black man and lifelong Colbert County resident, knew Dennoriss Richardson’s family well growing up. He shares the skepticism about the suicide ruling and said Richardson’s death has intensified his fear of retaliation.

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“To this day I hate seeing a police car,” Long said. “I’m still more afraid now than ever.”

Long sued the Sheffield Police department last year. After he inquired about an unrelated arrest taking place just outside his property in 2021, body camera footage appears to show officers following Long to his house, dragging him down his porch steps and siccing the police K9 on him as he screams for help. Long was unarmed, according to the complaint.

Richardson and Long are among five Black and Latino men represented by civil rights attorney Roderick Van Daniel who have filed lawsuits against the department in recent years.

“Citizens are living in fear of retaliation,” Van Daniel said.

In one case, an off-duty Sheffield police officer was caught on surveillance footage punching and pulling a gun on a Black man at a liquor store. The officer was later convicted of assault and menacing and reckless endangerment. He was fired from the department.

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In a separate lawsuit, a 57-year-old chiropractor claims he was shocked with a Taser 18 times while in handcuffs after he asked an officer to help him find his wife’s iPhone. Photos included in the suit show several large burn marks allegedly from the assault.

The Sheffield Police Department did not respond to numerous phone calls and emails seeking comment. Lawyers for the officers named in pending lawsuits did not respond to emails.

Balentine, the sheriff since 2023, declined to comment on specific cases. But he said that based on his almost 30 years as an officer in the area, he thought residents in Colbert County generally trusted law enforcement.

“If it’s proven that it was excessive, then I’m sure that there will be accountability,” he said.

Still, Balentine said he hoped the FBI investigation would help assuage concerns.

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“Transparency is always a good way to mend some fences with the community,” he said.

Leigh Richardson had known her husband since he was 17. She remembers Dennoriss, known affectionately as “Na-Na,” as a warm father to their five children. But she also said his fear of the police was not new.

“He was scared at that young age,” Richardson said.

Richardson said that after filing the lawsuit her husband was frequently stopped by police. In those months, he was “trying to stay out of the way,” she said.

Sheffield Mayor Steve Stanley said Dennoriss Richardson had come to his office at least once to express concerns that he was being profiled. Stanley said he assured Richardson that any officers reported through official channels would be investigated.

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The Sheffield Police Department did not confirm whether or how frequently the department pulled over Richardson.

Court records show Dennoriss Richardson had a long history of run-ins with local law enforcement, but the majority of the charges in federal and state courts did not stick.

Dennoriss Richardson pleaded guilty to drug possession in 2006 and was sentenced to five years in prison. In more than 15 years since then, court records show Richardson was arrested at least six additional times by the Sheffield Police Department, for charges ranging from disorderly conduct to robbery to assault.

None of those charges, except for a traffic violation for expired tags, resulted in a conviction, according to available court records.

In the same week that Richardson filed his lawsuit against the department, he was charged with trafficking meth. He had been arrested in a house where drugs allegedly were found. Richardson was out on bond when he died.

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Stanley said he firmly supports holding officers accountable for misconduct but emphasized his overwhelming confidence in them.

“I have preached and believe that the majority of officers, at least, recognize that everybody deserves respect,” Stanley said.

Still, amid the looming investigation, uncertainty in the community prevails.

In early October, Richardson’s friends and family filled the pews of the small Trinity Memorial Funeral Home to commemorate his life. The singing and sermons were punctuated by calls for justice.

At the pulpit, Van Daniel, Richardson’s attorney, said Richardson “believed in transparency and accountability. He stood up against police misconduct.”

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There was a steady chorus of “amens” from the crowd as Van Daniel spoke.

“His family and the Sheffield community deserve answers,” he said. “We deserve answers.”

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

___

Riddle is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Alabama

Everything Nate Oats said after Alabama's win over Illinois

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Everything Nate Oats said after Alabama's win over Illinois


Everything Nate Oats said after Alabama’s win over Illinois

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama coach Nate Oats spoke to reporters after the Crimson Tide’s 100-87 win over No. 25 Illinois on Wednesday. No. 8 Alabama bounced back from a loss to Purdue in strong fashion, taking down its first Power Five opponent of the season and gaining some momentum ahead of a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Players Era Festival tournament.

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Here’s everything Oats said after the game.

Opening statement

“That’s a big win. Illinois is good. They’re talented. Got multiple guys that are gonna end up playing in the NBA. They’ve got length everywhere. They beat us on the boards, so we’ve got to get significantly better on the glass. But I thought our guys did a much better job defensively. We had a few things we had to get cleaned up, and I thought we played pretty hard. I thought we had a group in there to close the game out that played pretty well on defense and got to the rim on offense.

“There’s lots of positives. We shot the ball well from some guys. I think Grant got his confidence going, obviously, early. Labaron has been playing really hard, almost had a triple-double with 16, nine and seven. I think the ball moved a lot better. Twenty-three assists to only seven turnovers was big. So there’s a lot of positives, but a lot of stuff to improve on still.”

On Mark Sears being held scoreless, sitting the final 11:27

“He was great on the bench. He was struggling. There’s a lot of pressure on him, obviously, being a home-state kid that came back. He’s the preseason player of the year, and he’s trying to do well. Teams are gearing their defense toward him. He had some good looks tonight; they just didn’t go. I took him out to kind of let him get his head together a little bit, and I tried to put him back in and he just said, ‘Look, they’re playing well.’ “I’ll be honest with you, it’s similar to what Herb Jones has done before. We’ve had some really good players here that have just kind of been unselfish enough and want to win bad enough to just say, ‘Hey, let the guys go. They’re playing really well. Leave them in.’ So that’s what I did. I tried to put him back in the middle of that 11 minutes, but he said leave these guys. They were playing pretty well. He was right, so we left them in, and they went on a run and won it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back against Houston.”

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On Alabama’s bench

“Obviously, Holloway shooting it like he did helps a lot with the bench. Derrion, Aiden Sherrell kind of showed what they’re capable of. They’re starting to both get a little more comfortable. Dioubate threw in another three for us, and I think Jarin’s got a huge jump he can still make this year. We’re deep. Everybody knew we were deep. We needed the bench tonight with how Mark maybe struggled shooting it a little bit. Holloway came in and helped us out a little bit. So I thought it was big. I think our bench will probably give us pretty good production most of the year because there’s going to be quite a few guys that would be starting at most places coming off the bench, so we’ll get pretty good bench production most of the year.”

On Clifford Omoruyi avoiding foul trouble doing forward

“He picks up some silly ones where he gets out of position and kind of comes in late. So we gotta keep working with him on some of that. Him being in a drop like we’ve got him in, he didn’t really play it like that at Rutgers. So he’s just got to continue to get better. I thought we’ve seen him get better and better in the drop. I think when Grant went to the five and kind of got in the drop, he had a blocked shot. I think he’s done a little more, so you can see he’s a little more experienced with it. So we just got to keep working with him on that and then keep working. But like you said, I mean, he was plus-14 when he was in the game, played 15 minutes. We were plus-14 with them in there. So we gotta try to keep him out of foul trouble so we can keep him in the game a little bit longer.”

On responding from the Purdue loss

“It was big. We needed to play against a high-major team, a good one, a top-25 team and be able to get a win. And I didn’t even think we played great in a lot of areas. I mean, you look at the offensive rebounds we gave up. We didn’t shoot it particularly well from some of our better shooters, and we were still able to score 100 points. We did take care of the ball a lot better, and I thought our defense improved.

“So I think we need to continue to see little things improve and do well and just keep building on it because Houston’s obviously really tough, really good. Giving up 14 O boards – and Illinois’ very good. They’ve got length everywhere. They go to the O boards. They’re one of the better rebounding teams in the country. But they’re not at the same level as Houston’s going to be on the offensive glass. So we’re going to really pick up on our defensive rebounding. Purdue kind of got to us there, Illinois got to us. So we’re going to have to make a huge point of emphasis on that going forward.”

On if he’s surprised at Labaron Philos’s progress

“From what I thought when you go back to last spring when he opened his recruitment up and we took him, yes, I’m surprised from then. But if you ask me after the summer, after watching what he did in June, July, August, he came in and established himself as one of the best guards in the program right out of the gate in the month of June. So I think he came in competing. I mean, he had the right mindset coming in, though.

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“Like when he opened his recruitment up, he kind of made the point, I think one of the statements might have been, if I’m not going to play much – because Kansas took a lot of transfer guards when he signed – if I’m not going to play much, I’d rather be home in Alabama at Alabama if I’m not going to play much. I said, ‘Look, just come in and work hard. We’ll see what you can earn.’ So he kind of just came in expecting nothing, had to earn everything, and when you feel like you gotta earn everything, that’s when I think you start playing your best.

“It’s why we don’t ever promise anybody minutes, starting spots, anything around here. I think you make everybody come in and earn it. And also, you get guys like Labaron that blossom. And he’s kind of earned from summer, fall practice. He’s one of our hardest competitors in practice every day. He’s winning the blue-collar in practice. He won the Hard Hat tonight. He just makes a bunch of tough plays and just loses himself in the game. I don’t think he’s worried about how many points he scores, about how many times he touches it, how many minutes he’s played. Just if he’s in, he’s playing hard, playing the right way, and it shows.”

On Aden Holloway’s contributions

“We didn’t play fast enough against Purdue. One of the clips that we did play fast enough was him. He got downhill, scored a layup. We just said we want to keep the pace going. I think it’s easier to play fast when you got three of those four guards in. I thought he pushed the pace tonight. He’s super skilled. I mean, he’s as good a shooter as I’ve ever coached. So the fact that he went 3-of-4 from three is not really that shocking. I’d venture to say he’s gonna have plenty other games where he goes 3-of-4, 4-of-5, 5-of-6. Who knows. He can shoot it, and his pace is good. His skill level is high. He’s got a good finishing package in the lane. He’s good. I don’t know that I would say I envisioned this because – we knew he was really good coming out of high school. I think maybe sometimes it takes a little bit to adjust in college or whatever. He definitely had some good games at Auburn, but we thought he could be more like what he was coming out of high school, and I think that’s what you saw tonight.”

On responding to Illinois’ runs

“I think they cut it to eight at one point, if I remember right. I think maybe we had a 14-point lead. I couldn’t remember. Did they cut it lower than that? I think maybe eight was where we got. We were up 18 at one point in the first half. I think we were up maybe 17 in the second half, if I remember right, at some point. They cut it to eight, and I think that’s when I called the timeout. I thought we came out of that timeout, played pretty well. I think we went on a 7-0 run after the timeout, and it started with some defense. We got some transition buckets off our defense, and then they made some tough shots. I thought we did a better job keeping them off – they ended up with 14 O boards. They had 13 with about 12 minutes to go in the game. We kept talking about making sure they didn’t get any O boards. They got the one there late, I think when Riley got it, if I remember right. But other than that, I thought we did a better job keeping them off the glass. And they’re gonna make some tough shots.

“Sometimes basketball is a little bit of a game of runs, but you gotta make them keep taking tough shots, don’t give up O boards, nothing easy. And then we just had to make sure we had some better shots on our end. We got to do a better job getting to the offensive boards and getting some easy looks, too.”

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On Aiden Sherrell’s performance

“I thought he was good. I mean, we want him to shoot the ball with confidence. We finally got him to drop a three. We’ve seen him shoot well in practice, I thought he had a nice lob he caught. He played pretty physical and got some rebounds. A lot more like what we thought we’d have got, and I got him more minutes. So I thought he deserved more minutes. I thought I should have played him more at Purdue, to be honest with you. But he played a lot better for us tonight. For him to get plus-eight in his nine minutes was pretty good.”



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Alabama

13-year-old killed, 3 other teens injured in north Alabama after car hits tree stump, sign, fence

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13-year-old killed, 3 other teens injured in north Alabama after car hits tree stump, sign, fence


A 13-year-old passenger was killed and three other teenagers were injured in a single-vehicle wreck Wednesday morning in north Alabama, authorities said.

The teen, who was not wearing a seat belt, was a passenger in a 2015 Nissan Altima that left the road and struck a tree stump, a sign post and then a fence around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday on Blessing Road near Arley Lacey Road, approximately two miles north of Boaz, in Marshall County, said Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Senior Trooper Brandon Bailey.

The driver of the Altima, only identified as an 18-year-old, was injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Two other teenage passengers — a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old — were also injured and taken to a hospital. They were not wearing seat belts, Bailey said.

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Further information on the wreck was unavailable as state troopers continued to investigate the incident.



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Alabama's improved pass protection trending up during final stretch

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Alabama's improved pass protection trending up during final stretch


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the second game in a row, Alabama’s offensive line did not give up a sack as the Crimson Tide cruised to a 52-7 win over Mercer in its penultimate home game.

Alabama has kept Jalen Milroe’s jersey clean in its last two wins as its offensive line, particularly its pass protection, has improved as the Crimson Tide’s 2024-25 season has progressed.

“It’s definitely gotten better,” said Alabama center Parker Brailsford. “I feel like we’ve kind of meshed better as an O-line, as a unit especially. But even as a team, I feel like we’ve just meshed better, and that’s definitely helped us.

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“I trust the guys to my right and my left that they’re gonna have my back just like they trust the guys to their right and left.”

Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) has been better at protecting the quarterback this season, allowing 17 sacks in 10 games. For comparison, the Tide gave up a Saban Era-worst 49 sacks in 2023. UA still has at least three games left on the schedule, but that’s a drastic improvement. 

The offensive line gets credit for the turnaround, but first-year Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said the responsibility falls on all 11 players, as well as the coaching staff.

“Trying to minimize the opportunities the opponent gets to really pin their ears back, and when you are in those moments, being mindful of what you’re asking your players to do,” Sheridan said. “It takes all 11. It starts obviously up front. 

“The identification, the technique, the fundamentals, but then the quarterback making sure he’s reading the play properly, getting the ball out on time, the running backs and their pass protection or their routes, and the skill guys getting open at the right time in the right spots.”

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The offensive line hasn’t been perfect. Alabama ranks sixth in the SEC in terms of the fewest sacks allowed. But Milroe doesn’t blame his offensive line when he’s dropped for a loss.

“I think our pass protection has been outstanding,” Milroe said. “We do a really good job of blitz pickup. We do a really good job with communication. 

“I believe that any sack that’s on the field is on the quarterback. I believe that the quarterback should solve problems. I feel as though it’s for the quarterback to have some integrity and have some details when it comes to communication up front, making sure we’re sliding to the right person, not being hot in protection, getting the ball out, not holding onto the ball.

Milroe continued, “I think they’re doing a really good job and they’re grinding, refining and competing at a very high level. I’m proud of those guys because they’re definitely gonna receive the fruits when it comes to all the hard work that’s been poured into each day during the week.”

Alabama will need to continue its recent trend this weekend when it travels to Oklahoma, as the Sooners rank third in the SEC with 32 sacks generated in their first 10 games in the league.

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But the Crimson Tide is ready for the challenge. 

Alabama’s offensive line is considered one of the best units in the country. It is a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, given to the nation’s top O-line, and has played some of its best football of late. In the last three games, Alabama’s front has paved the way for a combined 771 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in decisive wins over Missouri, LSU and Mercer.

The Tide has won the Joe Moore Award twice since its inception (2015, 2020), and Brailsford knows what that takes, being a part of Washington’s Joe Moore-winning offensive line a season ago. He sees the same traits from the line he is anchoring in Year 1 at Alabama.

“Just the want to finish,” Brailsford said. “I feel like that’s one thing that’s really talked about in offensive line play. Just the want, the intent to really bury another man.”

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