Decatur Turmoil Harassment Claims Emerge: Allegations of harassment are swirling in Decatur amid the ongoing probe into the officer-involved shooting death of Steve Perkins.
Councilman Hunter Pepper reveals a stream of threats since the September 29th shooting, escalating to physical intimidation, prompting him to take a stand.
“Now we have individuals involving my family, and we’ve received threats to our life, home, property, and belongings,” Pepper states.
He details receiving threats via calls, texts, social media, and in person. Despite understanding people’s anger, Pepper emphasizes the inappropriateness of threatening someone’s life or family over an event beyond their control.
Pepper confirms filing a harassment report against three individuals persistently harassing him. One of them, Walter Orr, denies communicating with Pepper outside council meetings, deeming the report unwarranted.
Orr counters Pepper’s claims, asserting no evidence of threats on video and filing a harassment report against Pepper for a dispute at a recent council meeting.
Cornelius Echols, another reported individual, recounts a single interaction with Pepper four weeks ago. He denies threatening Pepper, stating he only asked if Pepper was racist.
During the interaction, Echols wore a shirt with the message ‘say no to racism, I hunt racists.’ He clarifies that the phrase denotes holding racists accountable, not advocating violence.
Pepper, upon completing the reports, will decide whether to press charges. A press conference is scheduled at Decatur City Hall.
Other council members and the mayor state they haven’t received threats post-Perkins incident. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has no updates on the Perkins investigation.
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