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 said he was unresponsive at times, was placed in a medically induced coma and has suffered kidney failure requiring dialysis. Those medical details were presented by public speakers and attributed to hospital updates relayed in the meeting; the council did not announce medical findings in the public record.

Several commenters questioned the city’s mental-health response capacity. Multiple speakers said the city has only one named mental-health liaison and called for backup coverage or a 24/7 response option so officers have alternatives to arrest or force in crisis calls. Those commenters said the department’s approach has focused on arrest rather than de-escalation.

Resident Sarah French urged the council not to authorize Mayor Tabb Bowling to represent Decatur at the ALM event, saying, "Please do not send this man to represent our city at this event." Despite those public appeals, the council later approved the ALM voting-delegate designation by roll call.

Speakers at the meeting also criticized release and handling of body-camera footage. Resident Lisa Curtin told the council she had been given conflicting accounts about when and how footage would be released and accused a city official of providing inaccurate information to Scott’s family.

On personnel and oversight, Human Resources Director Michelle Sandlin told the council she would move forward with the HR process for the city’s police chief recruitment and that background checks and next steps were underway for a candidate, Captain Tory Mack. Several council members said they expected an update on the recruitment process the following Monday.

The council removed the SRO memorandum of understanding from the agenda “for today,” saying staff and council needed more time to discuss and reach firm understanding with Decatur City Schools. The removal halted any immediate council action on authorizing SROs under the proposed MOU.

The public comment period included multiple calls for broader change to the police department, including demands for independent investigation and for new transparency policies governing release of body-camera video and internal‑affairs procedures. Several speakers linked the latest incident to earlier cases that have generated community concern about use of force.

The council did not take a substantive vote at the meeting on changing body‑camera policy or on adding mental‑health staff; instead, staff and council members said they would explore options and provide additional information in coming days. The council did vote to advance personnel steps in the police-chief hiring process and to approve the ALM voting delegate designation.

City officials present included Mayor Tabb Bowling and representatives from human resources and the planning and legal staff; members of the public representing families and community groups made extended remarks and demanded specific remedies and investigations.

Community advocates said the outcome of the recruitment and of the city’s internal review processes — and whether the council adopts changes to mental-health response and body-camera transparency — will determine next steps for public pressure and possible legal or policy actions.

An item the public flagged earlier in the meeting, the SRO MOU with Decatur City Schools, was not acted on; the ALM voting‑delegate designation (resolution 25‑0‑6‑8) was approved by roll call during the same meeting.

The council scheduled follow-up items and said staff would provide updates on the police‑chief hiring timeline and on any internal reviews. Public commenters said they would return to future meetings until they saw further action.