DECATUR, Ala. — Decatur City Council member Hunter Pepper said at Monday's council work session that he will no longer stay for public comment periods, joining Mayor Tab Bowling in leaving at the conclusion of scheduled business. It comes after more than six months of council meetings and work sessions where citizens have complained about police and city leaders' response in the aftermath of the Steve Perkins shooting by police.
Pepper said "threats and continued harrassment," and an interaction earlier in the day, led him to the decision.
"I am no longer going to sit in for public comment," Pepper said. "I believe throughout the last six months we went over quite a bit of things, and it's been continuous. We're not being productive anymore. I feel that public comment is becoming irrelevant to council meetings and city business."
The announcement was met with calls of "Bye!" from members of the public gallery, followed by a round of applause as Pepper and Mayor Bowling left the dais. Public comment then followed, with several residents again raising calls for the removal of Police Chief Todd Pinion and accusations of "fractured" trust between citizens and the city government.
Before Pepper's announcement, the council read an updated version of changes to the city's vehicle repossession ordinance that will be considered further at its April 15 meeting. FOX54 has obtained the latest draft of the proposed changes, which sees a section on "Breach of the Peace" added to its guidelines.
That section, in its entirety, reads, Whether a breach of the peace occurs is impacted and controlled by the facts and circumstances involved in the particular repossession attempt. Peacefully means proceeding “without risk of injury to the secured party, the debtor, or any innocent bystander.” “The potential for breaches of the public peace and tranquility as a result of unauthorized intrusions on property escalates in direct proportion to the presence of fences, gates, signs, and other indicia of nonassent to entry.” The Alabama Supreme Court has further interpreted “breach of peace” to mean “any situation tending to disturb the public order,” which it characterizes as a disturbance of the public tranquility, by any act or conduct inciting to violence or tending to provoke or excite others to break the peace, or, as is sometimes said, it includes any violation of any law enacted to preserve peace and good order.” “Actual confrontation or violence is not necessary to finding a breach of peace” but that determination is based on the overall actual facts and circumstances involved.”
Additionally, in the section "Compliance with State Law," agents who are tasked with repossessing vehicles are asked to remember "that the risk of a breach of peace potentially increases during early morning hours and should act accordingly for the safety of all involved in any repossession attempt during the early morning hours, especially in residential districts."
As with previous drafts of the ordinance, towing companies or anyone else deemed a "Repossesser" must notify Decatur Police Department at least 30 minutes prior to a repossession attempt and provide a detailed description of the vehicle to be towed. That includes vehicle ID number, tag numbers, and colors. They must also provide the location of the attempted repossession and the name of the person believed to be in current possession of the vehicle.
"No repossesser shall proceed with more than one repossession attempt of the same motor vehicle at the same location during any 24-hour period," the draft reads.
Calls for changes to the ordinance grew in the wake of the Perkins shooting, in which police were called to intervene in a contested vehicle repossession. Perkins was shot by then-Officer Mac Marquette, who is presently awaiting trial for murder.
If this version of the ordinance is passed, it will go into effect on June 1.