DECATUR, Ala. — Decatur Chief of Police Todd Pinion released a statement Wednesday evening addressing criticism of officers within the police department following the gag order hearing May 17. The hearing is part of the murder trial of former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette.
Marquette is charged with the September 29, 2023 shooting death of Steve Perkins during police intervention over a towing dispute. Pinion, along with officers within his department and city leaders, were subpoenaed for that gag order hearing on Friday.
Some of the details shared during that gag order hearing included one of its officers, Lt. Joe Renshaw, admitting in court to using a fake name to make comments on the case in Facebook replies, in response to questioning from prosecutors.
Part of Pinion's statement includes, "It is important to me that our citizens understand that I do not condone officer misconduct, and as such, we are currently reviewing those concerns, which are in various stages at this time."
The letter from Chief Pinion in its entirety is below:
"I feel it is necessary today to address public concerns over some recent negative interactions between Officers of the Decatur Police Department and a few members within our community. It is important to me that our citizens understand that I do not condone officer misconduct, and as such, we are currently reviewing those concerns, which are in various stages at this time.
As is our usual practice, while the review continues certain officers will be reassigned to administrative duties to better facilitate this process. Once the review is completed, the results will be provided to the Legal Department for a determination of what suggested personnel action, if any, is appropriate.
That determination will be forwarded to the Mayor, as the appointing authority, for him to decide whether a hearing with any employee is justified in order to provide the employee an opportunity to respond. Since this is a personnel process, it will proceed internally and any action taken will remain internal until the process is completed.
It is my commitment to address concerns and provide counseling, guidance and other personnel actions, including discipline for the betterment of our Citizens, our City and our Police Department.
The process will continue but due to this being a personnel issue, it may not appear to move as quickly as some would like.
I prefer complete transparency in all matters that concern the safety of our community and officers. However, laws dictate what that level of transparency looks like in personnel and criminal cases.
Thank you."