Hattie DeBardelaben was killed in police custody in 1945. Solely lately did her grandchildren uncover precisely what occurred to her, in response to AL.com.
In 2024, Hattie’s granddaughter, Mary DeBardelaben, was in a position to get hold of paperwork from the Nationwide Archives and Data Administration associated to the case. This was because of the Civil Rights Chilly Case Data Assortment Act, signed by President Trump in 2019, which allowed an unbiased assessment board to research and disclose details about chilly instances from between 1940 and 1979.
Based on the federal paperwork, 4 officers arrived at Hattie’s dwelling in Autaugaville on March 23, 1945, claiming to be in search of unlawful whiskey. Although Hattie informed officers she didn’t have whiskey, they searched her dwelling anyway. Then, in the course of the search, one of many officers received violent with one among Hattie’s nephews.
When she requested them to cease, officers redirected their violence to her. CNN reviews they hit her, knocking her right into a pot of boiling water. They then detained her behind a patrol automobile however she died on her option to the jail. One officer testified to seeing her head “sag” as if her neck was damaged. It wasn’t till 2024 that Hattie’s grandchildren found these grisly particulars.