DECATUR, Ala. — UPDATE: Charges have been dropped against three people arrested at April's Decatur 3rd Friday event.
Previous story:
Catrela Perkins, the widow of Steve Perkins, the man shot and killed in September 2023 by a Decatur police officer, was briefly detained Friday during the city's monthly 3rd Friday Downtown street festival. Police officials say three people were arrested during the event.
Video obtained by FOX54 from Night Shift, the grassroots organization formed to demand justice for Perkins' family in the wake of the shooting, shows group members walking into the street festival area and shouting Steve Perkins' name and other slogans.
"Who is in charge here?" asks an officer, identified as Lt. Joe Renshaw, moments later. "You guys need to leave, you are causing a disturbance. There's not going to be any warnings; this is not a protest, this is an event. You will be arrested for disorderly conduct."
At least two other protesters are seen being placed in handcuffs before Catrela is seen in handcuffs and instructed to sit on a curbside along with one detainee by Police Chief Todd Pinion. Shortly thereafter, Pinion is seen speaking with Catrela directly. She and the chief walk to another location, where she is released from handcuffs to the sounds of applause from other protesters. The two then walk to a vestibule in front of a local shop to continue their discussion.
Night Shift's Facebook page says the group was planning to lead a "Justice Assembly" at City Hall Friday night, just a few blocks away from the festival, which is held on 2nd Avenue NE.
"Wow DPD killed my husband as if that wasn’t enough now they are harassing me !! put me in handcuffs in front of my 8 year old daughter for NO REASON!!," Catrela wrote on social media Saturday. "No Good cops in a racist system !! And is STILL #JusticeForStevePerkins"
Following Friday's detentions, Night Shift announced a "debrief meeting" to be held Saturday at the Caya Center.
At the gathering, Morgan County NAACP President Rodney Gordon confirmed he was present Friday, and said that before Catrela Perkins was detained, an officer walked up to him and threatened to take him to jail.
"We saw a mockery," said attendee Tommy Cook. "The Decatur Police Department making a mockery of the death of Steve Perkins."
"The most important thing we all have to take from it is that we can't let up," said Aneesah Saafiyah, co-founder of the social justice action group Standing in Power. "And we won't. We said from the very beginning that if it takes two years or five years, we're going to make sure that we keep doing the work."
The Decatur Police Department released a statement late Friday night: “Tonight at 3rd Friday, there was an incident involving some protestors. Three were arrested. There were no injuries, and we’ll be reviewing footage of the incident. We will update as necessary.”