DECATUR, Ala. — Two weeks ago, Steve Perkins was shot and killed in his front yard by Decatur Police after a tow truck driver tried to repossess his car. Since then, his death has gained national attention as the Decatur community demands that the body camera footage be released. Those calls for accountability grew stronger this week after the Decatur Police Department walked back statements on how they handled the situation that night.
"Here's my response to the inaccurate information: First of all, I want you [Police Chief Todd Pinion] to call a news conference; The same way you called one to put it out there, you need to call one to recant it. His [the officer's] actions were totally unacceptable," said Morgan County NAACP President Rodney Gordon.
Alabama NAACP State President Benard Simelton added that situations like this are why the NAACP started pushing for the release of body cam footage before it became a more common practice. "Cameras do not lie, and so in a situation where there's some questions about what the victim or the person did, you have a body camera to clarify those questions," said Simelton.
Gordon said the fight for justice will continue, and they have no plans of backing down until justice is served.
"We're not quitting, we are not going to stop, until they [the three officers involved in the incident] are put in jail," said Gordon. "The body cam is all right, but they need to be locked up, and not one - all three of them."
Simelton adds that some police officers still need training as it relates to using right judgement versus quick judgement. "They should not still be out there patrolling or doing law enforcement work if the information that is available potentially can implicate them in some wrongdoing," Simelton said.
Furthermore, Gordon believes based on what they are seeing, "... from the door cameras is self-explanatory. You [the police] were wrong."