Relatives of a Black man killed by Alabama police outside his home are requesting additional details about the circumstances around his death and access to the body camera footage depicting his final moments.
Stephen Perkins, 39, was killed in Decatur, Alabama, outside of his house on Friday, Sept. 29. Police assert that the man’s vehicle was being repossessed, and he got into a confrontation with the tow truck driver. The driver called 911 because Perkins allegedly pulled a gun on him.
Family members believe the Decatur Police Department’s account of what happened did not make sense considering who they knew Perkins to be and according to some of the financial records that he kept. They said they had receipts that showed his car payments were up to date.
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Also, several videos from neighbors’ homes show grainy glimpses of the deadly encounter that leave more questions than answers. In their opinion, based on footage they saw, officers used an “unjust excessive amount of force,” as their loved one was shot seven times.
One of the security videos released by the family’s publicist, Brent Lipscomb, seeks to show Perkins shining a bright light in the front yard.
The footage then shows him taking a couple of steps forward before suddenly springing backward and falling to the ground. The clip appears to capture an officer coming from Perkins’ right side, near his house.
The second video shows the officer running.
“Hey, hey, Police, get on the ground,” he yells in the recording, which then shows him firing multiple rounds.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.
A voice in the background of the black and white video screeches, “That’s the gun,” and then the cops are seen running over to what possibly is Perkins’ body.
The use of excessive force and possibly reckless endangerment are civil rights violations brought up by neighbor Justin Shepherd.
“I feel that this was reckless and sloppy. For…
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