Huntsville mayor responds to officer leg stomping video

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle says the city’s police department will properly address the actions of an officer seen on video stomping on a man during an arrest.

There was an uproar of concern after the video was posted on social media, and the mother of the young man arrested plans to sue the city.

Mayor Battle told us Monday when the department is in the wrong, leaders will address it and make sure the situation doesn’t happen again.

The video shows Huntsville Police officers arresting Kamontae Hobbs.

It also shows one officer stomping on Hobbs’ leg in the process.

Since it was recorded on May 30, a Huntsville Police Department internal investigation concluded an officer did not following training or policy during the arrest.. and there will will be a disciplinary review.

“The process is that we look at all the video cam, we interview all the officers, we go through it. And if we’ve done something wrong, we take a step back, we find a way to correct it,” Mayor Tommy Battle said.

Battle calls this in isolated incident, but he says it will not be ignored.

“If we’re wrong. We take corrective action. We make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Community members and local activists tell us they’re not sure they can trust that the officers will truly be held accountable, pointing out that William Darby is still on city payroll a month after he was convicted of murder in the death of Jeffery Parker.

“Considering the fact that the police chief endorsed and affirmed the actions of a convicted murder. I have to wonder if we can trust the police chief to take the appropriate action,” David Person said.

David Person with the Rosa Parks Day Committee says to him there’s no question what the outcome of the disciplinary review should be.

“It’s hypocrisy. If police officers don’t have to face penalties for these sorts of actions. So I would say at the very least he should be terminated, and perhaps he should be prosecuted,” Person explained.

It is up to Chief Mark McMurray and his command staff to decide how the officers involved will be disciplined, according to Mayor Battle.

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