Democrats spar over bodycam legislation named, in part, after Steve Perkins

Feb. 21—A bill sponsored by state Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, and supported by Steve Perkins' brother that would make police bodycam and dashcam video public record has received backlash from another House Democrat.

Coleman's bill is called the Jawan Dallas and Steve Perkins Act.

Perkins was shot and killed by a Decatur police officer in September, while Dallas died after he was tased by Mobile police officers. Both men were Black. Both families of the deceased had to wait months before they were allowed to view police body camera video showing what happened to their loved ones. Former Decatur police officer Mac Bailey Marquette has since been indicted for murder in connection with Perkins' death.

"We've got to be able to have access to that bodycam to calm the spirits of the public," said Coleman. "Because, at the end of the day, the public is paying for the bodycam video. It's tax dollars that are paying for it, and so these families ought to have some level of recourse."

Coleman and Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, are competing for a seat in the U.S. Congress. Both have announced they are running for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District.

Givan on Monday called Coleman's bill a "political ploy."

"To give a family a false sense of hope — there's no way the Republican-led Legislature is going to make (bodycam footage) public record," she said. The Legislature is comprised of a Republican supermajority. "This bill is not going anywhere, and you don't ride off the backs of the dead."

Givan said she began working to change bodycam legislation in the House after George Floyd was killed in 2020. With the cooperation of Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Jefferson, chair of the Committee on Public Safety and a retired police officer, she made some headway last year after her proposals were rejected "maybe two or three times" by Republicans.

Givan's 2023 bill that was signed into law established a formal process for families to request bodycam video from custodial agencies; however, the law still gives police the ability to deny the request.

"I will not get in a petty back-and-forth with the person that actually messed up the bodycam video (legislation)," Coleman said of Givan. "She wanted to pass something so bad, she ended up passing something that made it harder for families to have access.

"I don't champion an issue based on what the Republicans are going to do. I sponsored this legislation for the family members."

Coleman said she was the only elected official to attend a town hall meeting in Mobile following Dallas' death.

"The attorneys for the Dallas family mentioned (Givan's) legislation that had passed; they specifically mentioned that the bill made it harder for families to get access to bodycams," she said.

Coleman said she decided to sponsor the new bill at the request of community leaders.

"I was not even going to name the bill after anyone ... because then it only highlights specific cases when there are many other cases," she said. "Ms. Dallas reached out to me and asked me to please name the bill after her son.

"Then with all of the additional media around the Perkins family — I contacted them, I didn't just do this, to see was this something that they wanted to be a part of."

Nick Perkins, Steve Perkins' brother, said it was a "horrible feeling" not knowing what happened to his brother in his last moments. Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson showed him the bodycam footage of the shooting on Jan. 5, the day Anderson announced that former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette had been indicted by a grand jury for murder.

"Let families have that piece of closure," urged Perkins. "The start of it, anyway. At least to know — this is what happened, and that agency is not lying to us. At least we know that they know the truth, and we know the truth.

"That builds trust. But when you hide stuff, that creates a whole other monster."

Decatur police Chief Todd Pinion said, according to current state law, the decision to show bodycam video concerning Perkins' death belonged to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Anderson.

"The Decatur Police Department is always going to follow state law," he said. "I respect and understand the efforts of the Perkins family and others to work to change state laws that they disagree with — they have every right to advocate for what they believe in."

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that bodycam footage is not covered under the state's public records law. Coleman's bill would make footage subject to Alabama Code 36-12-40, which reads: "Every citizen has a right to inspect and take a copy of any public writing of this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute." The code makes exceptions for certain disclosures that would negatively affect public safety or would be detrimental to the "best interests" of the public.

Coleman's bill also requires the custodial law enforcement agency to release the video within 30 days of request and stipulates an appeals process should law enforcement deny the request. If passed, the bill would go into effect Oct. 1.

Givan is proposing amendments to her legislation in 2024 that would require more police transparency should the release of bodycam video to family members be delayed and stipulates that the footage may only be delayed, for a maximum of six months, if its disclosure would "substantially interfere" with an ongoing investigation.

Under the current law's language, law enforcement may deny disclosure of bodycam footage if the disclosure "would affect" an ongoing investigation.

Givan said these types of incremental changes to bodycam legislation were always part of the plan.

"We knew we needed to get something to at least allow the family members, at best, an opportunity to see it," she said. "Then we would start tweaking it, little by little, to come back with amendments so that hopefully one day we will have tweaked it enough that we will have an automatic full disclosure, or it's made to be a public document."

Coleman's aim to make bodycam footage public record out of the gate will "spook" Republicans, according to Givan. Givan is worried that Coleman's proposal may negatively affect her own.

At least one Republican lawmaker is open to the idea of making bodycam footage public record.

"I'm generally supportive of allowing access to any records created by governmental entities, including body cameras, but would need to do my due diligence on this particular legislation," said state Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur.

Givan said there are some scenarios that preclude disclosure of bodycam footage.

"A lot of people feel that there should be full disclosure, but me, practicing law for 20 years — yes, I would love to see automatic turnover — but I also realize, as an attorney, why that may not be possible," she said.

"You could have a child, a youth, that may be featured that may not be able to be blurred out, a potential witness."

There is a growing divide among residents of Decatur in the ongoing aftermath of Steve Perkins' death, according to his brother. If Coleman's bill had been in effect before Steve Perkins was shot, Nick Perkins said he thinks the city could have avoided this divide.

"It's better to have transparency between police departments and families and communities than just believe whatever was put out," he said.

Perkins pointed to Pinion's initial statement concerning the September killing, which was proved inaccurate by neighbors' security video, as corrosive to the community's trust in the department. Pinion apologized almost two weeks after Steve Perkins was killed for falsely stating that Steve Perkins refused to drop his firearm when ordered. He was never ordered to drop his firearm.

Pinion on Friday reiterated his apology: "I apologize for the inaccurate description of the encounter in our initial statement, and we have already taken steps to improve our public information sharing process."

Despite the apology, Perkins said Pinion can't expect the community to trust him or believe he should keep his job.

Others in the community, such as city Councilman Billy Jackson and grassroots group Standing in Power, have repeatedly called for Pinion's resignation since Steve Perkins was killed.

Nick Perkins said viewing the bodycam footage in January was "the start" of closure for his family. He said the footage, which he declined to describe for fear of jeopardizing the criminal prosecution, also "infuriated" him.

"It showed things that the public does not know, and showed things that were not told to us by certain authority figures," he said. "It pushes me to continue to advocate to get rid of Todd Pinion."

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438. @DD_DavidGambino