Police in Alabama city roiled by protests lacked ’empathy’ and ‘transparency,’ report finds
Police in Alabama city roiled by protests lacked ’empathy’ and ‘transparency,’ report finds
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — After more than a year of protests in a small north Alabama city over the fatal police shooting of a Black man outside his home, a redacted and highly anticipated third-party investigation found that the local police department often made improper arrests and failed to thoroughly investigate civilian complaints.
The 43-page report published Thursday finds that members of the Decatur Police Department “often” unnecessarily charged citizens with disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmental operations, and failed to thoroughly investigate civilian complaints — including use of force incidents.
“There are significant areas that require attention,” the report reads. “The commendable instances of compassionate and empathetic behavior by DPD officers are sometimes overshadowed by occurrences of unprofessionalism or lack of empathy.”
Decatur has a population of approximately 60,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and is located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Huntsville, Alabama.
The report notes numerous occasions when officers “improperly” arrested someone for disorderly conduct “and described the facts of the arrest differently in their arrest report compared with what was observed” in body-camera footage.
On other occasions, officers arrested citizens for simply using profanity, the report notes.
“DPD should provide additional training to sworn personnel regarding free speech to ensure that citizens’ rights are not infringed upon,” the report recommends.
The Decatur City Council unanimously voted to hire Green Research and Technology to conduct an independent third-party review of the department after the fatal shooting of a Black man outside his own home in 2023 sparked frequent protests across the city.
The investigation included a review of two years’ worth of citizen complaints about the department, over 300 hours of body-worn camera footage, and over 100 interviews with both members of the Decatur community and police department personnel.
The third-party investigation was limited by a fragmented system for handling civilian complaints, the report writes. When the department conducted internal investigations, certain violations of policy were “rarely documented,” including the improper restraint of incarcerated people and failures to activate the body-worn cameras.
Some videos were misfiled and deleted, the report adds, which prevented the third-party investigators from “thoroughly” looking into all complaints made by members of the community.
Decatur Police Chief Todd Pinion defended his department in a press conference on Thursday just hours after he reviewed the redacted report for the first time.
“There are situations where we could have made better decisions. I believe these are isolated incidents and not a reflection of the overall conduct of our officers or this department,” Pinion said.
Pinion said that the number of potentially problematic charges cited in the report only represented a small fraction of the overall charges that his department has filed in the past year. The chief said he welcomed additional training for his officers and would review the recommendations made in the report.
All mentions of specific police encounters cited in the report were redacted to protect both the city’s interests and personal interests, the city’s attorney said.
“It has been our position throughout that we do not desire to impact any civil, personnel or criminal proceedings outside that particular forum,” city attorney Herman Marks wrote in an email.
Steve Perkins, 39, was shot and killed by police on Sept. 29, 2023, when officers with the Decatur Police Department accompanied a tow truck driver trying to repossess Perkins’ truck. Former police officer Mac Bailey Marquette has been charged with murder and is scheduled to go to trial in April.
As tensions mounted between law enforcement and protesters along the small city’s streets and at volatile city council meetings, the report says that officers “were growing exhausted and becoming emotionally overwhelmed.” Body-camera footage showed officers antagonizing and arresting protesters, missing “the opportunity to engage with the protestors professionally.”
Video from Perkins’ neighbor’s home surveillance camera video, broadcast by WAFF, captured the fatal shooting. An officer is heard shouting, “Police, get on the ground,” almost instantaneously followed by a hail of gunfire in rapid succession. Police have not released body-camera footage of the encounter.
The police department initially said Perkins confronted the officers with a gun, and that he refused officers’ orders to drop his weapon. The department later said that was incorrect and that no such command was given.
Protesters said Marquette did not give Perkins time to respond.
Attorneys for Marquette said he fired his gun because Perkins came out of his house and “rapidly advanced toward the tow-truck and was pointing” a gun with a flashlight on top “toward the tow-truck driver,” according to a written request for an immunity hearing filed in early January.
Marquette’s defense lawyers wrote that their client’s actions were protected under “stand your ground” immunity established by statute and reaffirmed by recent holdings of the Alabama appellate courts.
“In fear for his life and the lives of others, the defendant fired his duty weapon to eliminate the deadly threat to himself, his fellow officers, and the tow-truck driver,” defense lawyers wrote.
Alabama Circuit Judge Charles Elliot will have a hearing on that motion on March 25.
___ Safiyah 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.
By SAFIYAH RIDDLE
The Associated Press/Report For America
