'The churches are here': Black pastors demand justice for Perkins

Oct. 31—In prayer and protest, hundreds of people gathered at Decatur City Hall on Sunday to demand justice in the fatal police shooting of Stephen Perkins.

During the gathering billed as "The Churches are Coming," a collective of local Black pastors and church leaders voiced support for Perkins' family, dismay and frustration with city leaders and demanded action.

"While we openly acknowledge and greatly appreciate the support and genuine heartfelt prayers and desire to stand with us from pastors across this community ... we felt it necessary, for this one specific occasion, that we, as the African American community, speak for ourselves," said Claudette Owens, pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

Owens spoke on behalf of the group of church leaders.

"As spiritual leaders of the Black community, we stand in the prophetic tradition of Old Testament prophets to speak truth to power to those in Decatur, Alabama, and to the Decatur Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency concerning the egregious atrocities in the killing of Mr. Stephen Clay Perkins," Owens said.

The group also spoke of Perkins' "unwarranted, unnecessary and unjustified" death, the lack of communication between the city and Perkins' family and the community, the inaction of city leaders, against ALEA's denial of the family's request to view the police body camera footage and the time that has passed since Perkins' killing without any new information.

"It took six seconds to take an innocent life and shatter the lives of a family, but it has taken 30 days since Mr. Perkins was killed, and we believe unjustly killed and gunned down, and we still don't know anything more than what the door cams have told us," Owens said, referring to security videos from Perkins' neighbors.

Perkins was shot at about 1:50 a.m. in the front yard of his Ryan Drive Southwest home. Police said he pointed a gun at an officer and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the gun was mounted to a flashlight. According to police, Perkins had threatened a tow truck driver about a half hour before when the tow truck driver attempted to repossess his vehicle, and police returned to Perkins' house with the tow truck driver.

On Sunday, photographs of Perkins with his wife, children and family lined the grassy area around the protesters.

The pastors called for the arrest and decertification of each officer involved in the shooting and the termination of the officers and their chain of command.

Owens quoted the late civil rights leader John Lewis, who said, "When you see something that is not fair, not just and not right, you have to speak up," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said, "Never make prayer a substitute for work and intelligence," and Frederick Douglass, who said, "I prayed for 20 years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs."

"To the Decatur, Alabama, powers that be and the Police Department, this is our reality check of your accountability. Check, we love you, but according to all we know and all we've seen, we believe Mr. Perkins' death is wrong," Owens said. "As we march and stand here in the River City, we invoke the words of the prophet Amos from Amos 5:24: 'But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.' In the words of our children of this generation, until we do, 'No Justice. No Peace,'" Owens said.

Adrianna Tapscott, co-founder of the Standing in Power group leading many of the protests seeking justice in Perkins' killing, said "It's important for our pastors and leaders to show leadership by continuing to spread the word and continuing to hold each other accountable."

The pastors and church leaders offered support for the protesters.

"Our children have been here since Day 1 marching and crying in the streets for justice. They are crying out to their pastors and their church families, 'Where are you?' We heard your cry," Owens said. "Today, the churches are here. We come alongside you to share our love and support for this family, for you and the entire community, for we cannot be a church if we don't love."

The event also included the reading of Micah 6:6-9 by Pastor Christopher Collins of St. Stephen Primitive Baptist Church and a prayer by Pastor Arthur Warrior of Progressive Christian Outreach Ministry.

"We pray that justice be served. We pray for transparency. We pray that you touch those in City Hall. We pray that you touch the mayor, touch the City Council and the council president. Touch the police chief. We pray that you touch every entity involved. We pray that they do it in a timely fashion and a timely manner. This family has been hurt for too long," Warrior said.

Between each speaker, Tapscott and Terrance Adkins led the crowd in chants of "No justice. No Peace," "Flashlight, flashlight, they killed him at night, hands up in the sky, flashlight, flashlight," and "Say his name: Steve Perkins."

The gathering also included a march led by Perkins' family and pastors from City Hall to Sixth Avenue and down Moulton Street and Second Avenue. Walking two-by-two, the protest march spanned two city blocks. The gathering ended with a release of red and black balloons in memory of Perkins.

— cgodbey@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2441. Twitter @DecaturLiving.