Public commenter urges probe of police allegations; city attorney says independent reviews found no supporting evidence

At the Aug. 12 Mobile City Council meeting, public commenter Felicia Johnson urged elected officials to review an investigator’s summary of public allegations concerning the Mobile Police Department and asked whether council members and the mayor had read or listened to the materials in full.

"Is there any council member... who has not read the investigator's summation of the public allegations made by Mobile Police Department former chief Paul Prine in its entirety?" Johnson asked. She also questioned whether the council agreed that a named commander’s alleged pattern of concealment and signature irregularities amounted to corruption.

The city attorney responded during the public-comment period that the matters have been subject to multiple reviews, including the council’s independent investigator, an investigation by the mayor’s retained law firm and an Office of Professional Responsibility review. He said, "Everything that was alleged at the front end of these investigations was patently found to be false." He added that the council’s investigator did identify a document issue related to a contract attachment, the matter was turned over to the district attorney and no charges were filed.

Why it matters: the exchange put questions about alleged police misconduct and related contracting before the council and established the city attorney’s position that multiple investigative processes found no legal basis for the initial public allegations. The attorney also said the city notified the attorney general's office and the district attorney as appropriate.

The council did not take a formal vote or issue a new directive on the record during the meeting; the city attorney said further comment would come from the city attorney’s office or from prosecutors as the litigation and review process continues.