A former Alabama police officer has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a man in front of his own home during a dispute with a tow truck driver, the district attorney announced Friday.
Steve Perkins, 39, was shot and killed by a police officer on Sept. 29 when officers accompanied a tow truck driver trying to repossess Perkins’ truck. A grand jury indicted Mac Bailey Marquette, a 23-year-old police officer who responded to the scene, on a murder charge accusing him of intentionally killing Perkins by shooting him with a pistol.
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Court records did not immediately indicate if Marquette has an attorney to speak on his behalf. A text message to a number listed in court records was not immediately returned.
Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson announced the indictment during a news conference Friday. Anderson said “the job now falls to me and my office to prosecute this case and seek justice.”
“It's not easy for me to be in the position of prosecuting an officer, but in this circumstance, it's the right thing to do,” he said.
Anderson said there were four officers at the scene the night Perkins was killed and only one fired his weapon. He said the grand jury cleared the other three officers of wrongdoing, and he agreed with that decision. The city previously announced that three of the four officers were fired for violating department policy and a fourth was suspended.
Video from a neighbor’s home surveillance camera video, published by WAFF-TV, recorded the shooting. The video shows the tow truck back into the driveway and Perkins come out of his house. An officer or officers appear to run out from beside the house. One is heard shouting, “Police, get on the ground,” and a large number of shots are immediately fired in rapid succession.
The Decatur Police Department said in September that officers came to Perkins' home after a tow truck driver reported that Perkins flashed a gun when he was attempting to repossess a vehicle.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in an initial news release that Perkins was armed with a handgun equipped with a light and “brandished the weapon towards an officer with the Decatur Police Department, causing the officer to fire at Perkins.”
However, an attorney for Perkins’ family has said officers essentially ambushed Perkins as he came out of his home and that Perkins did not seem aware of their presence. The family said the truck payments were up to date, which is likely why he was disputing it being towed.
Anderson declined to answer questions about the evidence in the case, including whether Perkins had a weapon.
An attorney representing the Perkins family said Friday that "we are extremely relieved that criminal charges are moving forward.”
“Steve Perkins was gunned down in front of his home by an officer with absolutely no justification for the use of force," attorney Lee Merritt said in a texted statement. He said they are "cautiously optimistic that the charges brought today will culminate in a conviction and appropriate sentencing.”
The fatal shooting in Decatur has drawn regular protests in the north Alabama city. Protesters have carried signs reading “You could have knocked” and “We need answers.” Perkins is Black. The officer charged in his shooting is white.
Perkins’ family will be allowed to view the body camera footage from the night of the shooting, Anderson said.
Marquette was released on $30,000 bond, according to court records.