The Decatur Police listening session is underway

DECATUR, Ala. (WAF) – A session is currently underway for people in Decatur to talk to police about their concerns.

The Decatur Police Department will hold a listening session Thursday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Turner Surles Community Resource Center.

Police Chief Todd Pinion said on the department’s Facebook page that he plans to “promote meaningful connections and advance important conversations” at this meeting.

The meeting may have been intended to regain the community’s trust after a tough year, but the general atmosphere leading up to the meeting was tense.

Since then, the community has not been happy with the Decatur Police Department Steve Perkins was shot and killed by one of the police officers in September 2023.

Several protests followed in the coming months and community members are still unhappy with the communication and transparency.

Aneesah Lige and Terrance Adkins are co-founders of Standing in Power, a racial justice group that has spent the past fourteen months demanding justice for Perkins.

Both are optimistic about the opportunity to speak honestly and freely Thursday night, but they are outraged by the work Pinion and his department have done since Perkins’ death.

“(Pinion) never really came out and there were press conferences and town halls,” Lige said. “He has never met the community halfway when it comes to transparency. And that’s a mistake, because that’s your job: to protect and to serve, and to make sure you keep your community and your city safe.”

She and Adkins say police didn’t advertise this rally very well, but they’re excited about the turnout after working hard to spread the word.

“We’ve sent emails, we’ve sent texts, we’ve made personal phone calls ourselves to make sure that the people who need their voices heard are going to be there,” Adkins said.

Lige says she is encouraged to see the community becoming more involved and aware of their surroundings, and that they are all preparing to make their voices heard during the session.

“We’ll be honest,” she said. “We are going to be the standard and show how it should be done when it comes to talking to your community.”

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