Prichard Mayor Carletta Davis says the roughly 15 people still with the Prichard Police Department will soon be placed on 30 days of paid administrative leave while the city carries out a comprehensive administrative review of the agency, correcting earlier reports that the entire department had already been removed from duty.
Davis said officers were told about the plan during a departmental meeting this week, and that the exact timing depends on following personnel board rules. The public, she said, will be notified when the leave begins.
“We are going to do everything by the book,” Davis said.
What the review will examine
The city has agreed to pay a consulting firm up to $50,000 to help evaluate the department and establish professional standards. Davis said the review will look at personnel files, training records, use-of-force records, character and integrity concerns, and national accreditation standards.
“We’re going to work the process and give everyone the same assessment and do a fair process,” Davis said. “I have no expectations on how many will come back and how many won’t come back.”
The paid-leave step is part of a broader effort to rebuild a police department that has come under state and federal investigation, a situation that prompted Mobile County to step in and provide patrol and dispatch services in the interim.
Negotiations with the sheriff’s office continue
At the same time, the city is negotiating with Mobile County over a funding agreement that would allow the sheriff’s office to continue providing patrol and dispatch services during the transition. Davis said officers could be put on leave before September 4 — the date Sheriff Paul Burch has said his office will end Prichard patrol and dispatch services without a funding agreement in place — and she does not expect any lapse in law-enforcement service.
“There is not going to be any lapse in service, and the community will be safe,” Davis said.
Davis and Burch met Wednesday morning, and the sheriff described the talks as positive. Burch said he could extend the September 4 deadline if a contract is close to being finalized.
“If it’s something where I know the holdup is just some legal language that the lawyers all need to get, then I don’t mind extending a little bit longer if that’s what it takes, knowing that the contract will be signed,” Burch said. “I’m not going to just leave everybody hanging.”
Burch said his office was asked to provide services after the Prichard Police Department came under state and federal investigation. He said deputies will continue to respond to emergencies, but that the office cannot sustain the current level of service without a contract.
“My message to the public and especially to the citizens of Prichard, we cannot financially sustain what we’re doing right now without funding from a contract that allows me to hire more deputies to work Prichard,” Burch said.
Council members push for a transition plan
Not everyone at City Hall is satisfied with how the process has unfolded. City council members Traci Hale, Stephani Norwood and Annie Williams issued a joint statement criticizing the mayor’s plan and how it was communicated, saying they were not informed before the administration decided to place officers on leave.
“A decision of this magnitude — one that directly affects police protection for thousands of Prichard residents — should not occur without a clear and coordinated public-safety plan,” the council members said.
As the review moves forward, city leaders face a fast-approaching September 4 deadline to secure continued sheriff coverage, and the outcome of the administrative review will determine how many of the department’s remaining officers return to duty once their 30-day leave ends.