DECATUR, Ala. — UPDATE (9/7): Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling announced that three police officers will be terminated, and one suspended, following an internal review of the details surrounding the Steve Perkins officer-related shooting of Sept. 29.
Bowling said an appeal process is open to the affected officers. The ruling takes immediate effect. Citing state law, the mayor said the officers names will not be publicly released, unless the officers move forward with their appeals, when they become public record.
"I listened intently to the officers as their individual determination hearings took place," Bowling said Thursday at a specially-called news conference. "Following those hearings, along with the information I received from Chief [Todd] Pinion and our legal team, I closely reviewed all things in each individual matter when considering the cases I have made my decisions regarding each employee."
The one officer who was suspended, Bowling said, "was found to be involved to a lesser degree."
Mayor Bowling said the city will begin a "top-to-bottom review" of policing policy and practices, including how information is revealed to the public, in the wake of this incident.
"It is now incumbent on us as a city as people who love Decatur to work to move forward and to work to ensure that this tragedy is not forgotten or ignored," Bowling said.
As has been reiterated several times during the process, Chief Pinion found in a predetermination hearing that the officers violated policy, but under existing state law, only the Mayor can make the decision to fire officers.
In a written statement issued Thursday, night, Pinion also said the following:
I accompanied the Mayor when he visited Mr. Perkins’ family to share the news of his determination. I have expressed my sorrow personally to the family of Mr. Perkins as well as publicly in prior messages, but I reiterate that sentiment here.
While the Mayor’s decision brings resolution to one portion of the investigation into what occurred, an active criminal investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency continues. That investigation is independent of the now-concluded Decatur Police Department Administrative investigation. As I have said from the earliest days, we will accept whatever decision results from that process.
This incident has left grief for many, beginning with the family and friends of Mr. Perkins and extending to our community and beyond, as well as within our police department. I have pledged to take action to ensure something like this never happens in Decatur again, and that process has begun in earnest. It includes reviewing policies and procedures to implement change where needed, additional training, revitalizing our Citizen Advisory Board, and creating a critical incident page on our website to provide an additional avenue to keep the community informed when a critical incident takes place. We will also be implementing measures to provide for increased officer health and mental wellness, to include budgeting for yearly mental health checkups.
While there have been those who have come from outside of Decatur to exercise their 1st Amendment rights, my concern is foremost with those who call Decatur home. With a wide spectrum of feelings among members of our community, I want to reassure you that the Decatur Police Department serves each and every one of you. While it is my hope that you do not judge any organization by one incident, no matter how painful, I promise that we will be doing everything humanly possible to earn the benefit of your trust moving forward.
WATCH FOX54's 'Timeline' special covering the Steve Perkins case leading up to Pinion's predetermination findings.
Our original reporting continues below:
There is more waiting ahead for those wanting resolution in the officer-related shooting death of a Decatur man. Monday's Decatur City Council meeting was expected to bring with it Mayor Tab Bowling's announcement of whether the officers involved in Steve Perkins' shooting will face disciplinary action.
However, the regularly-scheduled 6 p.m. council meeting began early, with council members stating that determination hearings were still ongoing, and as a result, Bowling's announcement was not expected Monday night after all. The statement brought a loud groaning noise from members of the gallery in attendance.
Council members stated that the results of the determination hearing, whenever they were complete, would be announced "in the short-term, in the next few days," to quote one council member, but "not in a city council meeting."
Bowling's announcement will come following recommendations by Decatur Police Chief Todd Pinion, who in a written statement two weeks ago, said he believed "polices were violated" in the confrontation that led up to the shooting.
"Under our merit system rules, a chief of police cannot issue discipline beyond written reprimands," Pinion wrote, "and it is my professional opinion that such discipline is warranted."
Prior to Monday's meeting, the officer who fired his weapon remains on paid administrative leave; the other two officers who were on-duty at the time of the shooting and the involved supervisor remain on-duty but on administrative reassignment.
Groups, including Standing in Power, and the Atlanta grassroots branch of the Black Lives Matter movement, are demanding the officers be terminated and face legal repercussions.
In an email leaked to the public last week, City Council member Hunter Pepper said he felt the officers should not be terminated.