Decatur residents demand accountability after video showing police use of force; council removes SRO MOU but names mayor ALM voting delegate

Residents and family members pressed the Decatur City Council on Tuesday over a widely shared video that shows Decatur police using force during an encounter with John D. “LJ” Scott Jr., who was treated at hospitals afterward and required dialysis, speakers said. Public commenters said the footage shows officers tasing and repeatedly striking Scott while he experienced a mental-health crisis.

The comments came during the council’s agenda-related public-comment period, where several residents demanded more transparency, questioned how body-camera footage was handled and urged steps such as additional mental-health staffing, independent review and changes in police leadership. The council removed an agenda item to renew the memorandum of understanding for School Resource Officers (SROs) with Decatur City Schools but later approved the mayor’s designation as the city’s voting delegate to the Alabama League of Municipalities (ALM).

The meeting’s public commenters said Scott was frightened and should have been treated as a person in medical or mental-health distress. Several speakers, including family members and community advocates, described Scott’s condition after the encounter as critical: they…