Free Justice Department initiative suggested for Decatur Police Department review

Jun. 20—With the City Council poised to vote on spending as much as $200,000 to hire an outside consultant to do an independent review of the policies and culture of the Decatur Police Department, a suggestion was made at this week's council meeting that it instead take advantage of a review offered at no cost by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bill Birdsong, chairman of the Morgan County Alabama Democratic Conference, on Monday said the Justice Department's Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC) could be the "solution" for reorganizing the Police Department.

"I know you guys have spoke on bringing in a third party," Birdsong told the council. "CRI-TAC does what the third party does, but, if you bring a third party in, it's going to cost you. You're going to have to pay for that, and this is free."

City officials are considering a Police Department review because of criticisms the department has received in the aftermath of the Sept. 29 shooting death Steve Perkins by a Decatur police officer.

Former officer Mac Marquette is charged with murder. The city fired Marquette and two other officers while suspending one officer. All four have appealed their penalties to the Personnel Board.

The Decatur Police Department has been the target of criticism both for its conduct in dealing with Perkins during a repossession of Perkins' vehicle and for its handling of nonviolent demonstrations since then.

Birdsong said CRI-TAC "isn't a slap on the wrist." Instead, it's a collaborative effort between the city and the Justice Department "to alleviate the problems we've had here," he said.

In January, the Justice Department announced it had provided more than 1,000 technical assistance engagements to state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement agencies across the country.

For example, at the request of the mayor and police chief of Memphis after police killed Tyre Nichols in January 2023, CRI-TAC began a review of the Memphis Police Department's special units and its use of force policies.

The Justice Department website says CRI-TAC provides "individualized technical assistance using leading experts in a range of public safety, crime reduction, and community policing topics."

The initiative takes on close to 40 topics, including active threat response, de-escalation, implicit bias, mass demonstration response and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

However, the city is already in discussions with Tory Green, CEO of Huntsville-based Green Research & Technology, to do a third-party review of the Police Department. Green is a former Huntsville police officer and Secret Service special agent.

Council President Jacob Ladner, who is leading the effort for an independent review, said he had never heard of CRI-TAC before Monday's council meeting. He said he's willing to consider the initiative, but he is moving forward with the idea of hiring Green.

"We can certainly change course if we need to, but I don't plan to slow down the other group at all," Ladner said. "We'll see if there's a better option, but I haven't seen a better option."

Ladner said he expects to have a proposed contract with Green ready for council consideration at the July 1 council meeting. The cost will range between $100,000 and $200,000, he said.

"They will probably have a minimum time frame and then do an hourly charge kind of like an attorney would do. It won't be cheap, and it's a lot of work with a big team they put together to do it," he said.

Ladner said he expects the review will then take three to six months to complete.

Rodney Gordon, president of the Morgan County chapter of the NAACP, said he likes Green and wants the city to move ahead with hiring the firm to handle the independent review.

"We've worked for eight months together and we're going to give it a chance," Gordon said. "People come with different ideas, but it's really too late for that."

However, Gordon said he also likes including the Department of Justice.

"D-O-J — I love those letters because that's going to really get us what we need," Gordon said.

Gordon said it's time for the city, mayor and Police Chief Todd Pinion "to man up" and admit they haven't handled the aftermath of the Perkins shooting well.

"Everything they've done, including the firing of the officers, was coerced by the public," Gordon said. "That wasn't done by procedure, and now we're supposed to forget what they did?"

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432