DECATUR, Ala. — The public comment portion of Monday's Decatur city council meeting again focused on furor directed at Mayor Tab Bowling and his response to the police shooting death last year of resident Steve Perkins.
This time, the ire is focused on a Facebook post the mayor made about an incident at the church he attends. "Last Sunday," he Bowling wrote, "my home church received six or seven of those who frequently protest outside my home and who have participated in Council Meetings over the past year. Their presence was unsettling to [wife] Sherry and me as we came to worship.
"This morning a known civil rights activist from Huntsville who has an extensive arrest history, Garrick Rawls ... arrived and sat directly behind Sherry and me," he continues. "Rawls was wearing a badge clearly showing his was attending is support of the Perkins incident [sic]."
Bowling goes on to say that he extended his hand to greet him, but Rawls "chose not to return the gesture, which left me feeling uncomfortable for the first time in my life during what should have been a time of peace."
His post was shared in other forums, including the "Decatur/Morgan County, Alabama Happenings" Facebook group, which garnered more than 600 comments as of Monday night.
Those continuing to support the Perkins family spoke Monday night, pressuring the city council to deliver justice.
"The mayor was busy taking pictures of someone behind him," one speaker noted. "So who was paying attention and who wasn't? Who got the message from God and who didn't in that service?"
Justin Weil, a Decatur resident who is hoping to take over the mayoral role once Bowling steps down next year, said this latest debacle is indicative of the problem as a whole: "We put these people in office and we expect them to deliver. But attacking members of your own community? That's not delivering. That's putting your selfish needs above the community," he said.
Terrance Adkins, co-founder of the Perkins-supporting Standing in Power group, also a critic of the mayor's actions in the wake of the Perkins shooting, agrees. He pointed to Bowling's leaving the building after Monday's council business, avoiding the public comment portion, as a sign of ineffective leadership.
"Leaving the meetings for almost a year now, without actually considering that we're citizens that need our concerns addressed is appalling," Adkins said. "He does this every time. And there are things that we're asking about outside of Steve Perkins and the movement, that he gets up and leaves."
Bowling declined our request for an on-camera interview following the meeting and twice responded "No" when asked if he'd comment on the interaction at his church. Rawls has also yet to respond to FOX54's request for comment.
Council member Carlton McMasters did say during Monday's meeting that Police Chief Todd Pinion is due to make an announcement about his plan to improve his department's relationship with the public Tuesday.