A Question of Trust: The state of community trust with law enforcement
FOX54 News has separate sit-down interviews with Catrela Perkins, widow of Steve Perkins, and Decatur Chief of Police Todd Pinion.
How It All Began A life taken. Trust broken. And where things stand now.
The widow of Steve Perkins, a name we've heard for almost ten months, says she and other community members have a lack of trust in the Decatur Police Department.
It goes back to September 29th of last year. Former Officer Mac Marquette shot Perkins in front of his home. It started because of a car repossession dispute. It started because of a car repossession dispute.
Three Decatur police officers were fired including Marquette. One more was suspended without pay. This was Mayor Tab Bowling's decision last December, and all four officers have appealed.
Marquette was indicted for the murder of Perkins in January. Marquette had pleaded not guilty and is now awaiting trial. We sat down with Catrela Perkins to ask her about community trust, and Decatur Chief of Police, Todd Pinion.
Who is Steve Perkins? Husband, friend, community member
When asked, "Who is Steve Perkins to you?", his widow, Catrela Perkins, had to take a moment. To many people, he represents justice yet to be served in Decatur. But to Catrela, she still misses him. "He was my best friend. I do feel like he was my soulmate. He was a great father, husband and a great neighbor. He was a gym rat. He stayed at the gym. If he wasn't at the gym he was at work, or we would probably go out to eat nine times out of ten."
We asked Decatur Police Chief Todd Pinion, "Would you have ever imagined something of this magnitude, regarding Steve Perkins, would happen?"
He replied, "No. Not here in Decatur." Pinion knew Steve Perkins. "I knew him really in passing at the gym. We worked at the same gym together. You know, got to know him through that. Just, you know, just talking to people, you know."
When asked what went through his mind when he found out that it was him in the incident on September 29, Pinion said, "I just say like this, the loss of life, for any, being in this department, being in this community, being a part of it is, is tragic."
The Statement Where the mistrust began
Part of the mistrust began when Chief Pinion released a statement about the shooting, saying that officers ordered Perkins to drop his weapon before Officer Mac Marquette began shooting. Pinion later walked back that statement as the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency conducted the investigation.
Neighborhood surveillance revealed Marquette ordered Perkins to get on the ground. Pinion also walked back the statement that Perkins refused to drop his gun prior to the shooting.
Catrela Perkins weighed in. "The first statement that was released, I knew that was false because I know Steve, he wouldn't have dared did that. So I knew there was some false information in there."
As for Chief Pinion, "If I could go back in and do that again, I, you know, wouldn't, that would change something. But we would have made it correct and that's the reason why I did it, because I said, 'You know, look, I want to be honest.' I want to have integrity and, and that's part of the integrity, part of the 'Yeah, we, we did, we did mess it up.' And I owned up to it and put it back out what was done."
In April we sat down with Catrela during a community forum centered on her husband's case and asked, "Do you feel like you have a trust in law enforcement, in Decatur specifically?"
Her reply? "Um no, the trust is very, very low, especially after September 29th."
Who is Todd Pinion? Police chief, community member, youngest child
Catrela, like many others in her community, have a mistrust of the Decatur Police Department led by Decatur Chief of Police Todd Pinion.
So...who is Todd Pinion? We wanted to get to know him and asked, very simply, "Who is Todd Pinion?" And he told us.
"Todd Pinion's a guy who grew up in Southern Illinois. You know, the baby of three. You know, my parents are a little bit older. I'm the baby of three by a longshot."
Pinion went from working in corrections in Illinois to serving on the police force in Decatur. He worked his way up through the ranks in all of the twenty years he said he's been in the River City.
Can Trust be Rebuilt? What comes next?
What comes next?
We asked Catrela Perkins, "What do you hope to see? Could you see any mending of community trust here?"
She replied, "I do believe Todd Pinion stepping down or resigning would be, would be the first step to healing."
We took that statement to Chief Pinion. "That's pretty heavy, Chief. Like, she said that. What do you make of that?"
After a moment, he answered, "The day [before], September 28, I was with my Citizen's Advisory Board going over some things, about how I wanted to do some other engagement activities with the community, to really try to, just be out there a bit more. And that's, you know, the small steps, to be able to do that. And you know, I understand, you know, where they're coming from. I don't take none of that personal. I want to try to make this community better."
Chief Pinion says he plans to implement a six-point plan to improve community relations with police.
Since our interview with Catrela Perkins, she and at least nineteen people filed complaints against an officer, Lieutenant Joe Renshaw, following a demonstration during a street festival in late April. Accusations against Renshaw include harassment.
The Decatur Police Department confirmed to us Renshaw filed for retirement in June.