DECATUR, Ala. — Tensions between residents fighting for a Decatur widow's search for justice and members of the Decatur Police Department grew this weekend when demonstrators attending the city's 3rd Friday Street Festival this weekend were met with threats of arrest by police. One officer, Lt. Joe Renshaw, is being singled out for allegedly being particularly aggressive.
19 people filed complaints against Renshaw Monday at Decatur City Hall, according to Morgan County NAACP President Rodney Gordon and members of the civil rights action group Standing in Power.
We spoke to Gordon and he explained Friday night's demonstration was a "move of awareness on what happened to Steve Perkins." Gordon said the complaints were based on "harassment", "unprofessionalism", "verbal threats", and "police brutality".
Three people were ultimately arrested at the April 19 event; Catrela Perkins, the widow of Steve Perkins, was among several people who were briefly detained but released at the scene.
Video obtained by FOX54 from Night Shift, the grassroots organization formed to demand justice for Perkins' family in the wake of the fatal September 2023 shooting, shows group members walking into the street festival area and shouting Steve Perkins' name and other slogans. They are met early on by officers including Renshaw, who is heard on video telling the group, "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."
The nearly 30-minute video shows Renshaw and other officers in the process of detaining or arresting various members of the group.
The complaining residents allege Renshaw violated their protected right to assemble and protest.
FOX54 has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Decatur city leaders to obtain copies of the complaints. Officials with the police department confirmed that the complaints received are forwarded to the Office of Professional Standards to be investigated. Results are then sent to the Chief.