DECATUR, Ala. — Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling has responded to an email written by council member Hunter Pepper, which was leaked online this week, in which Pepper says he is in support of the officers involved in the shooting death of resident Steve Perkins.
Mayor Bowling's response to FOX54 is as follows:
Councilman Pepper is certainly free to voice his own opinions and make suggestions as to how he would prefer the City of Decatur proceed related to the policy investigation into the death of Mr. Perkins. However, the City of Decatur will continue to follow the law.
The officers involved will have a hearing – as they are entitled to under Alabama and federal law – and I will make a judgment following that hearing. Any suggestion that I have already made a decision is false.
Councilman Pepper confirmed to FOX54 that he composed the email in question, which was only meant to be seen by the mayor and fellow council members. This email was leaked to the public on Facebook by a protester, and Pepper claims that the email was leaked by a city employee.
"I support the police in this matter and do not support termination of any involved," Pepper wrote in a portion of the email. "This is the right thing to do, its not about the police, its not about the public ... in this situation, the officers acted on how they were trained and taught." (sic)
In the email, Pepper also mentioned recommendations made by an attorney hired by the city. Those recommendations, he stated, were to terminate three of the officers involved and suspend the fourth officer without pay. These statements have not been independently confirmed by FOX54.
Pepper addressed the email to "Mayor, Council," accusing them of "failure you have delivered to the employees and citizens ...by not allowing proper and fair due process."
In a previous statement, Mayor Bowling said, "In any hearing, I will hear the facts of the case and decide if discipline is warranted and to what extent. Under Alabama law, any decision can be appealed to the Personnel Board if any officer is disciplined. The Decatur Police Department has committed, and I have committed, to make the findings of these hearings public. As a reminder, the City can only look into potential violations of City policy. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is conducting the criminal investigation."
"To those who have stated they support termination," Pepper continues in the email, " I hope each of you make zero mistakes at your place of work as the owners may hang you before your trial has occurred ....just as I see happening at the city of Decatur."
Pepper told FOX54 today that the mayor has still not come to a disciplinary decision. This decision will be made at the determination hearing on Monday, December 4th.