Prichard Mayor Carletta Davis said the city is about take big steps to rebuild its police department, but members of the Prichard City Council have expressed strong reservations.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon on social media, Davis said she was putting officers on leave and striking a deal with Mobile County for continued coverage by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.

Davis said that she wanted citizens to know that she and Sheriff Paul Burch “are both committed to rebuilding the Prichard Police Department and ensuring public safety throughout this transition.”

She said she wanted to be very clear about one thing in particular:

“The city of Prichard is rebuilding its police force, not abandoning it.”

However, three members of the Prichard city council also released a statement on Wednesday. Traci Hale, Stephani Norwood and Annie Williams said they wanted citizens to know that “we were not informed of this plan before the decision was made, nor were we included in discussions concerning how such a significant action would affect public safety in our city.”

The three said they weren’t told about the steps Davis expected to take until “after the administration had already determined that officers would be placed on leave.” Such a decision should not occur without “a clear and coordinated public-safety plan,” they said.

Their concern raises questions about how smoothly the city can move forward. Hale is the council president, and the three represent a majority of the five-member council. The city’s mayor and council have been at odds and are involved in a lawsuit that has been sent to mediation.

The MCSO has handled most policing calls in Prichard since mid-June, when local and federal agencies announced the arrest of a Prichard Police Department officer.

The arrest was part of an ongoing investigation into corruption in the department. Several more officers have been arrested since then, including Chief Walter Knight.

On Monday, Burch reiterated his position that the strain on MCSO personnel and finances is too great to sustain over the long term. He said the MCSO would significantly reduce its coverage in Prichard starting Sept. 4, if agreement wasn’t reached on a long-term contract for services.

Prichard has grappled with the question of whether to “abolish” its department and rebuild from scratch, as recommended by a grand jury, or to work with what it has. Discussion at an Aug. 5 forum revealed that the Prichard force had dropped from around two dozen officers to a little over a dozen.

“They’re not all bad,” Davis said at that event.

“We have had some bad actors. We have had some lack of policy. We have had lack of oversight, and quite frankly, we have had lack of funding. There has been mismanagement of funding.” She also acknowledged that low pay made for a recruiting challenge.

In Wednesday’s statement, Davis said that she had met with Prichard PD officers. She told them they would be placed on leave, she said, while the city begins “a comprehensive administrative review and rebuilding process.”

Davis said affected officers will get more information in the coming week. She also said the city had “obtained an experienced consulting team” to help rebuild its police department. She did not reveal any details about that group, but she said officers on leave will have the chance to meet with the team.

Davis said in her statement that she had met with Burch this week. The MCSO will continue to provide services in Prichard, she said.

“The City is working with its legal team to develop an intergovernmental agreement governing these services, which I will submit to the Prichard City Council for its review and consideration,” she wrote.

The three council members said that Davis had not presented the council with “a resolution, agreement, or other concrete proposal to maintain the Sheriff’s Department’s assistance during the transition.”

“We fully support accountability, professional standards, and any lawful review necessary to strengthen the Prichard Police Department,” they said. “However, accountability and restructuring cannot come at the expense of leaving our citizens uncertain about who will answer their calls for help.”

The three council members said that the mayor had told the council that “a proposed Intergovernmental Agreement will be sent for legal review and that the financial impact is still being evaluated.”

They said that raised serious concerns “because the public safety consequences are immediate.” They called on Davis to present the complete plan “including the proposed Intergovernmental Agreement, the agencies that will provide coverage, anticipated costs, the duration of any outside assistance, and the administration’s plan for uninterrupted 911 and emergency response.”

Davis’ announcement did not nail those specifics.

“Our goal is to build a professional, accountable, well-trained, and properly supported police department that our officers can be proud to serve in and our citizens can trust,” Davis wrote. “As part of this rebuilding effort, we intend to pursue accreditation and align the department with the nationally recognized standards established by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

“This process will take work, and it will require thoughtful and responsible decisions,” she said. “Public safety will remain a priority throughout this transition, and we will continue communicating with our officers and our community as we move forward.”

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