MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Calls for justice, accountability, and the release of police body camera footage continue, more than three weeks since the shooting death of a Decatur man in front of his home. Groups fighting on behalf of Steve Perkins' family have taken their daily vigil from city to city, and on Saturday, direct to the steps of the state capitol building in Montgomery.
Perkins’ niece, Brooklyn Gaiter, livestreamed the group's walk down the streets leading to the capitol, which included chants and signage including phrases like "You Could Have Knocked," directed towards the officers who responded to the Sept. 29 incident. Other signs calling for government and police overhaul read such things as, "Our arms are tired from holding these signs since the 1960s."
The group's intended message, as it has been since Perkins' death, is to compel the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to release the police body camera footage of their interaction with Perkins, leading up to and including the shooting. They are also calling for the immediate termination of the officers involved in the confrontation and to see the officers prosecuted for their actions.
A tow truck driver who was at the home that night reported that Perkins flashed a gun, so officers accompanied the driver when he went back to the home. Police officials initially said officers ordered Perkins to drop a weapon he was carrying and that he refused to do so; Chief Todd Pinion later said in a correction that what actually happened is the officers identified themselves as “police” and ordered Perkins to “get on the ground.”
The footage was supposed to have been released to Perkins family lawyers this week, according to attorney Cannon Lambert Sr., but ALEA reportedly told them a certain form had not been filled out. Lambert said that form would be completed as soon as possible.
Thursday, in an act of self-described "legal disruption," a group of protesters stopped vehicles in mid-traffic flow for about 30 minutes on the Steamboat Bill Memorial Bridge in Decatur, leaving only as police vehicles arrived at the bridge.