The mysterious death of 39-year-old Dennoriss Richardson has outraged the community amid demands for a full investigation in Colbert County, Alabama. A Black man from Sheffield, Richardson was found dead in a rural abandoned home on September 28, 2024.
The death was initially ruled a suicide by the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office, but skepticism of that conclusion has been loud among Richardson’s family and throughout the community – many pointing to his history with local law enforcement and a lack of tangible evidence to support those conclusions.
Complicating that further is that Richardson filed a lawsuit against the Sheffield Police Department for alleged excessive force-actually, beating him up-and withholding medical treatment and other cruel behavior during his five-day incarceration in 2022. He claims to have been treated with tasers, mace, and harsh jail treatment, and the suit apparently put a chill into the relations between him and the local authorities.
The Richardson family claims the investigation is rigged since the local police had previously threatened him to drop the suit in return for lesser charges. The family further claims that he was described as a white male in the missing person report, which could intimate an act of careless or worse action.
This has caused outrage, primarily from Black community members of Colbert County, given the region’s history of racial violence and lynchings-more than 300 documented cases in Alabama between 1877 and 1943.
Roderick Van Daniel, a civil rights attorney for the Richardson family, said that he had grave concerns about possible foul play and police misconduct. “Citizens are living in fear of retaliation,” Van Daniel said. But the fear of retaliation doesn’t stop at Richardson’s death, as multiple lawsuits against the Sheffield Police Department have surfaced from Black and Latino men in recent years claiming excessive force and harassment.
On these points, Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine asked the FBI to intervene-the opinion being on the basis of impartial investigation. Sheriff Balentine is quoted as saying that “We feel confident in our findings, but want to provide peace of mind for the family and community.” The Birmingham field office of the FBI has agreed to review the case and examine any signs of criminal misconduct.
For Tori Bailey, the president of the local NAACP chapter, where there once was a rupture between communities of color and law enforcement, that distrust has spanned decades. “There has long been a disconnect between communities of color and law enforcement,” Bailey said, referencing other cases she investigated involving excessive force. The symbolic nature of a Black man found hanging is not lost on the community, many of whom feel the investigation should consider both historical context and Richardson’s lawsuit.
Longtime resident Marvin Long, who also had a number of run-ins with the Sheffield Police, spoke to the lasting fear Black residents live with when confronted with law enforcement. “To this day I hate seeing a police car,” Long shared. His own lawsuit against police tells of a violent encounter in which he said he was dragged from his porch and attacked by a police dog.
The days immediately following Richardson’s death were filled with friends and family coming together to celebrate his life. On the day of the memorial service held at Trinity Memorial Funeral Home, attorney Van Daniel gave a fiery talk about desiring transparency and accountability. “Dennoriss stood up against police misconduct. Now, his family and community deserve answers,” as a rumble of affirmations came from the crowded room.
