The appeal hearings for the four officers involved in Steve Perkins’ death will be open to the public.
The officers and their attorneys will present evidence to Decatur’s citizen personnel board within the next 30 days.
That board is made up of five Decatur residents; Â鶹Çø dug through their backgrounds to get a better understanding of who they are.
The chairman of the board is Dr. Harold Gilmore, who is a local church minister at Moulton Heights Church of Christ. Darius Crayton is senior pastor at Bridge Builders Church International. Next on the board is Pam Werstler, who is the president of Acorn to Oak Consulting. Next is Nora Vanderploeg. She has a lengthy history of working in human resources. And lastly, there is Suzie Wiley. She and her husband were longtime owners of WYAM 51, a local TV and radio station in Decatur.
The personnel board is appointed by the city council, and the board is not allowed to be any type of city official. They meet when needed, and there has to be a majority agreement when making decisions.
Decatur city attorney Herman Marks tells us it could take up to a week for us to know details from the appeals, like the names of the officers and policy violations, along with when the hearings will take place.
Steve Perkins’ brother Nick spoke to Â鶹Çø Thursday about the officers filing appeals. Nick Perkins said, “We kind of anticipated this move by the officers, so as long as the personnel board upholds their decision, we’re fine. And it is our faith that they will do so. So we don’t expect to see these officers anytime soon, especially in the street, hopefully in court, so that all of this plays out and hopefully that’ll be in a criminal case and that these officers are arrested and prosecuted.â€
Earlier this week, Steve Perkins' widow filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, revealing the four officers the family says are responsible for Steve's death.
It names Bailey Marquette, Christopher Mukadam, Joey Williams, and Vance Summers as defendants.
Â鶹Çø filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the city of Decatur to see personnel records for each officer. The city says it will release that information by tomorrow.
