Pepper opinions inflaming Perkins protests

Dec. 19—Councilman Hunter Pepper isn't shy about expressing his opinions. But now some of those opinions are drawing the ire of at least some of the people protesting the Sept. 29 police shooting death of Steve Perkins.

The anger is palpable at City Council meetings, with Pepper now taking most of the heat because of his support for the police officers involved.

Sometimes almost yelling, the protesters demand Pepper's resignation or for the City Council to remove him, which it cannot do. Pepper has had conflicts, mainly verbal, with the protesters at City Hall before and after council meetings. Protesters are showing up outside his home and business.

Mayor Tab Bowling expressed hopes last week that the city would start healing and return to normal, but he said Pepper doesn't seem to want to cooperate.

When asked about Pepper's actions and their impact on the city, Bowling replied, "They're certainly not helping any."

Councilman Kyle Pike said Pepper's comments in recent days stirred up the conflict with the protesters.

"I'm not sure if that's his motive or not, if that's the reason for him kind of amplifying his stance," Pike said. "He's made his stance clear. Obviously, people will react to him. I hope he's not looking for a reaction."

But the city's youngest-ever councilman isn't concerned. He admitted he's having "a negative impact" on protesters. However, he doesn't think this conflict is having any impact on the city as a whole.

"The loud few aren't making up for the silent majority," Pepper said. "I've had hundreds, if not close to 1,000, calls, texts, emails, from all over the city, which say, 'We stand with you. We're the silent majority.'"

Pepper said the "silent majority" that he believes supports him aren't coming out because of the expected reaction they might get from the protesters.

When someone speaks out with opinions contrary to the protesters' stance, Pepper said, the protesters "hassle you; they harass you; and they terrorize you. If I were them, I wouldn't speak out neither."

Pepper said the same 50 or 60 people, including a large number who don't live in Decatur, show up at every council meeting.

"These protesters are trying to make this all about themselves," Pepper said. "The people who actually care aren't out here screaming and yelling to get their opinions across.

"The people who actually care are working behind the scenes trying to get information to solve this. They're not coming to every meeting to bash one another, bash me, bash (Council President) Jacob (Ladner) or bash someone else. They're actually doing what they can to get things done."

Pepper said the protesters know the City Council "can't do anything" about their complaints related to the Perkins case, yet they continue to protest, which he said "is very annoying."

The councilman stayed quiet for about a month and a half after the shooting, but then came out loudly at the Nov. 13 meeting. At the Nov. 27 meeting, protesters several times yelled down the councilman.

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Defending officers

Pepper said he broke his silence to defend the four police officers: Bailey Marquette, Christopher Mukaddam, Joey Williams and Vance Summers. Three have been fired and a fourth received a 10-day suspension without pay. The four appealed their punishments last week to the Personnel Board, which will hold hearings for each officer in January.

"I believe the officers are being done wrong, especially when you have council members who are calling for their termination and their arrest, prosecution and conviction," Pepper said.

Protester Craig Johnson said he believes Pepper is trying to influence the city's legally mandated personnel process.

"I think he is doing his best to try to nullify the legitimacy of the investigation because one of his buddies got fired," Johnson said. "That shows right there what the problem is."

Pepper said he "isn't a boot-licker" who just trying to get in good with the Police Department.

"People need to understand that this is about what is right and what is wrong," Pepper said. "... I am stating my opinion, and you are stating your opinion. You are choosing to tear me down to the best of your ability and trying to ruin my name."

Pepper said the protesters' actions "show there are childish individuals in this world who do not know how to grow up."

He said the parents "failed in protesters' upbringing. They don't know how to raise children so they can grow up and become productive members of society. Instead, they want somebody to blame for everything."

Councilman Carlton McMasters said he has been unhappy in recent weeks with Pepper, especially since Pepper sent an email Nov. 28 to the mayor, council and apparently to the entire Police Department.

Pepper's email expresses displeasure with the purported disciplinary punishments and calls the mayor's decision, which Pepper claims was influenced by immense public pressure, "unjust and unfair."

"It's frustrating that an elected official has brought a negative perception to our city," McMasters said. "We've heard calls for council to do something to have him removed. We don't have that authority or power.

"I don't know what to say. Am I frustrated with Hunter's behavior the last two weeks? One hundred percent, absolutely," he said.

Rodney Gordon, one of the protesters, said he thinks Pepper has been unethical in the ways he's handle the Perkins controversy.

"First of all, he (Pepper) gave a ruling to the public," Gordon said. "He shouldn't have done that. Then he holds his own press conference and publicly states the mayor was wrong and the chief was wrong because they didn't give them (police officers) their due process."

He said it took this long because they gave the officers due process.

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'Get rid of' Pepper

Gordon said the first thing the city needs to do to get past the controversy "is get rid of Hunter Pepper."

However, Ladner has said several times in council meetings that the council can't remove Pepper from office. The only options are going to Morgan County Circuit Court, filing an ethics complaint with the Alabama Ethics Commission or vote him out in the 2025 municipal elections.

Pike said Pepper's comments could be ethical or unethical, "but they're disrespectful and disruptive at the least."

It's OK if Pepper has a different opinions, but it's not right "to be argumentative just to be argumentative in this situation," Pike said.

Pike said a problem is the conflicts between Pepper and the protesters are being seen on the city's YouTube feed of the City Council meetings.

"That gets attention from the media, social media," Pike said. "That becomes what some people see as a reflection of the city."

Councilman Billy Jackson said the things Pepper is doing now aren't surprising because he called for the young councilman to resign in 2020.

"I am no more concerned about Pepper than the day we were sworn in," Jackson said. "This is something we should have seen coming as voters in our city."

Jackson said this shows the voters need to make conscientious decisions and vote for people who are qualified.

"We have to know more about them than one sign they put out or having just one conversation," Jackson said.

Bowling said he and the council members "have talked with him for three years. He just seems to go solo sometimes. With this movement, I know they (protesters) are really put out with him."

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