New termination, performance details revealed on former Huntsville cop accused of murdering girlfriend

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - WAFF has learned new details on the termination and past performance of former Huntsville Police Department Officer David McCoy.

McCoy is accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend, 26-year-old Courtney Spraggins in mid-January. McCoy was off-duty at the time and the alleged murder occurred at the Weston Ranch Apartments.

WAFF requested the personnel file for the former Huntsville Police officer on January 13. The file was received on July 8.

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT FROM HUNTSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

According to his personnel file, McCoy was terminated from the force with a reason of “resign without notice.” The human resources memo detailing his resignation included the following:

Pursuant to Section 12.1 (B) of the City of Huntsville Personnel Policies and Procedures, I do hereby find that Huntsville Police Officer David McCoy has resigned his employment with the City of Huntsville on this date without notice. Officer McCoy failed to report to work as scheduled beginning January 10, 2022 through January 12, 2022. Officer McCoy’s three-day consecutive absence from work was not authorized.

Section 12.1 (B) of the City’s Personnel Policies and Procedures states “Unauthorized or unreported absence from work for a period of three consecutive working days (or the equivalent for Fire Suppression Personnel) may be considered by the Department Head as resignation without notice.” Accordingly, Officer David McCoy’s resignation is effective immediately.

The memo was sent to HR Director Byron Thomas from Police Chief Mark McMurray on January 13.

PAST PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

In a performance review dated received on August 6, 2021, McCoy received “effective” ratings in quantity of work, quality of work, work habits, and adaptability. McCoy was rated “outstanding” in personal relations noting the former officer “conducts self exceptionally well with co-workers, public, and supervisors.”

The review rated McCoy as “unsatisfactory” in the supervisory ability category.

The comments section of the review contained the following note:

Officer McCoy has been an asset to South 30 squad since his assignment. Officer McCoy takes care of his assigned zone and is always eager to help out his squad mates. I encourage Officer McCoy to continue to expand on his job knowledge and skill to help further his career with the Huntsville Police Department.

In another reviewer’s comments, McCoy was noted as “below the officer average in several categories” due to the level of instruction received during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we come out of the pandemic, Officer McCoy will be expected to be proactive and to increase his calls for service and self-initiated activity. Officer McCoy’s performance will be monitored in the coming months.

AWAITING TRIAL FOR CAPITAL MURDER

McCoy could be facing the death penalty if convicted of capital murder.

According to investigators, McCoy admitted to shooting Spraggins, but doesn’t remember how the event unfolded. McCoy said that he remembers firing the gun, running into his apartment, changing his clothes and hiding the gun in the top drawer of his dresser.

“You’ve got a young woman who has her life ahead of her and an unborn child,” Madison County District Attorney TimGann said in January. “Those facts in of itself and based upon how she was killed it is clearly a case we will seek the death penalty on.”

McCoy’s defense attorney Brian Clark said McCoy did not state he did it on purpose and it could have been an accident.

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