Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson issued an apology Thursday for the fallout over false information in the police department review by former U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown.
The information stated that an ACCEL Academy assistant principal assaulted a student. There were two videos of the incident. Stimpson said when he looked at the video, he realized no crime had been committed. He told FM Talk 106.5's "Midday Mobile" host Sean Sullivan that, at this point, the issue was between the school and Kenyen Brown.
He said some of the report's findings were questionable, but it also included recommendations on how the city can improve the police department. He said he has spoken to around 175 officers in the past week and has heard "their side of the story," which he called "interesting."
"I've told him that I have to own where we are right now," Stimpson said. "And I need participation and cooperation as we go forward because we will work our way out of this."
"… Even though they've been offended, they've been very professional and very civil about some of their comments and they're not trying to patronize me," he continued. "They said, 'In the last 10 years, you've done more than any two mayors have done … but my heart hasn't changed for what needs to be done for police and what needs to be done for protecting the citizens of Mobile. So, that's why I'm willing to accept this so that we're not pointing fingers at everybody else."
Stimpson said things would be different if he had it to do over again.
"It gives me personal angst because certainly, the idea was not to give anybody a black eye in this deal, either the one reporting or those being reported upon," Stimpson said. "And we felt like it could be handled in such a way that it would be a win-win for everybody and so I have to accept responsibility for that."
Stimpson said the report was not the reason former police chief Paul Prine was fired. However, in April, he told Sullivan that Prine was put on administrative leave after the report revealed to him that Prine's best practices and procedures did not align with his own.
"Paul Prine was terminated for irreconcilable differences," he said Thursday. "And the inability to get along with the leadership structure. Those challenges or problems were being done before this report ever materialized."
Stimpson said the investigation was helpful in knowing what the Department of Justice (DOJ) might be looking for if they were ever called in to investigate policies and procedures.
"That was going to be a price to pay to make sure that we were doing things right without DOJ coming in," he said.
Brown was paid nearly $298,000 to perform the review. Stimpson said while that was a lot of money, it was a learning experience for him. The city attorney hired the firm to do the third-party investigation without the mayor's or council's approval. Stimpson said the Zoghby Act allows for such investigations.
"Neither the council nor the mayor knew that it would cost this much," Stimpson said. "We knew that he was a very high-priced lawyer but they were very surprised or shocked, as is the mayor, on how much this did cost."
In the end, Stimpson said he was sorry to police officers who had been impacted by his negative publicity and mistakes as mayor.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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