Lonnie Smith Jr. was 21 when he was shot and killed by a Montgomery police officer on February 21, 2018. Earlier that day he had been robbed and assaulted at gunpoint by three people identified as Radirus Wheat, Quartez Luster and a person known as Tweet. Police responding to a reported shooting were given a description of a Black male with no shirt and blue jeans who was reportedly armed; Officers Jarius Booker and Paul Harris encountered Smith, who fled on foot. Officer Booker chased him and fired multiple times, and Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.

Smith’s mother, Lisa Hill, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Montgomery, then-Police Chief Ernest N. Finley, Jr., and Officers Booker and Harris alleging unlawful seizure and excessive force.

If anyone knew Lonnie Smith Jr., witnessed the events that afternoon, or has information about the shooting or the earlier robbery, please share what is known.