(CN) — A former Alabama police officer was indicted on a state murder charge Friday, more than three months after he shot and killed a man during an attempt to repossess the subject’s vehicle.
Bailey Marquette, a 23-year-old former officer of the Decatur Police Department, is charged with intentionally causing the Sept. 29, 2023, death of 39-year-old Stephen Perkins by shooting him with a pistol as Perkins emerged from his home to attempt to stop the repossession. Perkins was Black and Marquette is white, but parties on both sides have stressed the shooting was not racially motivated.
Decatur, a city of nearly 58,000 people about 26 miles southwest of Huntsville — on the southern bank of the Tennessee River — has a population that is about 62% white and 26% Black.
According to authorities, earlier on Sept. 28, a tow truck driver attempted the repossession alone and unannounced when Perkins confronted him while holding a gun, claiming the driver lacked the legal authority to take the vehicle. Sometime after midnight, the tow truck driver returned, escorted by four officers from the Decatur Police Department.
This time, allegedly responding to his barking dog, Perkins emerged from his home again, holding a flashlight (which may or may not have been attached to a handgun) and telling the driver to “put my truck down.” Almost immediately, officers who never announced their presence and who had been concealed on Perkins’ property ordered Perkins to lie on the ground.
Simultaneously, Marquette opened fire, shooting at least 18 times. According to his family, seven bullets struck Perkins and he died on the scene. The shooting was partially captured on neighbors’ security cameras and police body-worn cameras, but the latter footage has not been released.
In an initial statement, the department said Perkins was holding a gun, but it subsequently walked back that statement and has not yet provided additional details.
The city has acknowledged that Perkins’ automobile payments were up to date and the attempted repossession was not authorized. After an internal review was completed in December 2023, Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling announced Marquette and two other officers on the scene had been fired, and a fourth was suspended.
In a federal lawsuit filed by Perkins’ widow and minor child Dec. 12, 2023, the plaintiffs allege Decatur police had a pattern and practice of rewarding officers for “more invasive citizen interactions,” such as detaining a driver and searching a vehicle during a traffic stop, rather than simply dismissing a driver with a traffic ticket.
In an Instagram post in October, Perkins family attorney Lee Merritt explained that Perkins went outside to see why his dog was barking. He was startled to find the tow truck driver and police and “in a matter of seconds, the men hidden in the dark surrounding his property revealed themselves and simultaneously opened fire.” Merritt further claimed Perkins “never had a chance to surrender,” while “officers didn’t announce their presence until the very last moment.”
“[Perkins] was committing no crime,” he wrote. “Officers surrounding [Perkins] in his front yard fired over a dozen rounds striking him seven times — killing him. They later discovered the attempted repossession was a mistake.”
In a news conference announcing Marquette’s indictment Friday, Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said the case has affected the entire community, which largely coalesced around the victim after the shooting.
Months of peaceful protests resulted in the city council passing a new requirement to obtain a permit for public assembly, a decision which has been criticized widely.
“It's not easy for me to be in a position of prosecuting an officer but in this circumstance, it’s the right thing to do,” Anderson said, noting he “agrees completely” with the grand jury’s decision to charge only Marquette. The grand jury comprised eight men and 10 women, Anderson added, 15 of whom were white.
Three other officers fired or suspended by Decatur — Christopher Mukkadam, Vance Summers and Joey Williams — were not indicted, but Anderson suggested federal authorities are continuing to review the case and additional charges could be forthcoming.
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