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Residents urge careful police chief selection as council reviews applicant pool after Steve Perkins shooting
Summary
At the work session staff reported 18 police-chief applicants and sought council direction on interviews; multiple public commenters urged the council to prioritize community trust, outreach and transparency in selecting a new chief following the shooting of Steve Perkins.
City staff told the Decatur City Council the police-chief applicant pool contains 18 applications and asked the council for feedback on who to interview; no final hiring decision was made during the work session. Multiple public commenters used the public-comment period to urge the council to take extra care in vetting candidates and to center community trust, particularly following the death of Steve Perkins.
Michelle Fallon of the human-resources department asked the council for guidance on next steps for the planning-director candidate and later noted the police-chief applicant pool sizing. Staff recommended that councilmembers provide their preferences for interview candidates by noon on the following Monday so staff could schedule interviews; staff also recommended interviewing any candidate a councilmember requests.
During public comment, residents raised two recurring themes: (1) the need to involve and consider the communities most impacted by police actions, and (2) concerns about transparency and prior city interactions with residents. One commenter said the city should "ask questions about the candidate and their plans to rebuild trust between the police and marginalized communities" and recommended specific interview topics including community engagement plans and policy revision priorities. Several commenters repeatedly invoked "Justice for Steve" and asked that community leaders, activists and families harmed by police violence be included in outreach and trust-building.
A resident asked whether municipal staff and councilors had completed training referenced as "Senate Bill 291" requirements on ethics, conflicts of interest and budgeting; councilmembers responded that they had not yet set a timetable to complete that training. Another resident raised concerns about an HR-organized "planning huddle" that was not open to the public and suggested citizens should be allowed to attend informational sessions that are city-paid.
Council members cautioned speakers against discussing specifics of applicants in public meetings, saying open discussion of named applicants could harm recruitment and the city bility to attract candidates. Several council members and staff said they would gather interview preferences from councilmembers and return with a schedule for interviews.
Why this matters: The city is actively screening candidates for a position that carries community-safety responsibilities while some residents say the selection process must address community distrust stemming from a recent police shooting and related public controversy.
What happens next: Staff asked councilmembers to submit interview preferences by the stated Monday deadline; staff will schedule interviews and return to council with the proposed list of interviewees and logistics.
