Safety guard accused of capturing man over loud music is former Horn Lake police officer; Civil Rights Lawyer Ben Crump retained to characterize family of Alvin Motley

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – A security guard accused of shooting a man in a Kroger parking lot after an argument over loud music is a former police officer from Horn Lake, Mississippi, authorities there confirmed.

Gregory Livingston was a retired Horn Lake City official from August 1998 until his resignation in April 2001, a Horn Lake Police Department commandant said.

Man shot dead for loud music at Kroger Fuel Center in East Memphis; Guard charged with second degree murder

State records show that he was not a licensed armed guard at the time of the shooting. His license had expired and he was about to renew it.

A Kroger spokesman said he was an employee of Allied Universal Security. This company’s Memphis office had no comment on Monday.

Livingston, 54, is charged with the second degree murder in the death of Alvin Motley, who was shot and killed Saturday night at a Kroger Fuel Center in Poplar and Kirby.

“I’m still shaky when I think about it, you know. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sound,” said one witness. “We all had an argument and you didn’t just raise your gun and shoot someone because someone said something out of the way to you. It was just inappropriate. “

“This man took the love of my life away from me. You didn’t give me a chance to have a future with my husband, whom I wanted to marry in two months, ”Rolanda Johnson, Motley’s fiancée, told us.

This is Alvin Motley. The family shared this photo with me and said he was a local celebrity in his Chicago community, an aspiring actor and entertainer who loved his family.

They say he was in Memphis Saturday for a business trip and to see / surprise loved ones. @ 3onyourside pic.twitter.com/N8lIxWOX8b

– Symone Woolridge (@SymoneTV) August 9, 2021

Family members say Motley was visiting Memphis on business and had several projects in the works before his death.

A witness told police that the incident began when Livingston and Motley argued over the volume of the music coming from their car. The witness said she told Motley to go back to the car, but he then got out and told Livingston to “talk like men”.

Memphis police said Livingston told officers he shot someone. A 9mm Glock 19 was recovered.

Livingston sits in the Shelby County Jail on a $ 1.8 million bond on charges of second degree murder.

Motley’s friend sees this as more than casual, “So something in your head told you to kill him, and before you pulled your gun, that was your thought.” I think that was a preconceived idea. “

They believe that first degree murder is a more appropriate charge.

The family has hired National Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump to represent them. Crump will hold a press conference at Mt. Olive CME Church on Tuesday lunchtime and has made the following statement:

“My heart breaks for the Motley family as they mourn the tragic and preventable loss of Alvin. Kroger and companies employing security personnel have the ultimate responsibility for training and educating their employees and contractors in de-escalation techniques, similar to the training we advocate for law enforcement officers. There is no reason why a black man trying to refuel his car should lose his life because his music was louder than what a security guard would prefer. For me there is no question that this crime was racially motivated and that a white person who plays music loudly under similar circumstances would be alive. “

Attorney Ben Crump

WREG is trying to learn more about this case and will update this story.