New video shows aftermath of Steve Perkins’ shooting
DECATUR, Ala. (WAFF) - A new video showing the aftermath of the deadly officer involved shooting in Decatur is raising questions.
The video is security camera footage from a neighbor across the street from Steve Perkins. It’s the same home owner who shared video of the shooting in the days following the incident. This second video was recorded moments after the shooting. It shows two officers standing over Perkins, appearing to pat down his legs. A few moments after, a tow truck pulls out of Perkins’ driveway with his pickup truck attached. You may remember police were initially called to the scene after a tow truck driver claimed Perkins brandished a gun as he was repossessing the pickup. Perkins’ family has said there was a mistake and the truck was up to date on payments. As of a few days ago, that truck remains at an impound lot.
The video was first published by our newspaper partners at the Decatur Daily on Saturday. The video, paired with comments from other neighbors after the shooting is raising questions about the police response to the incident. The Daily quotes a neighbor named Susan Capps. She says she was outside while all this was going on. “I did not see them render any first aid,” she said. “All I kept hearing was ‘put the gun down, put the gun down,’ and Perkins is on the ground. I saw him move one arm slightly, and I heard him say, ‘Help.’ I saw his arm move like up toward his head, and then I didn’t see him move again.”
The Daily reports that Capps said she’s unsure if Perkins died at the scene or en route to the hospital, but that the ambulance was in “no hurry” to get there and it took “forever” to load Perkins and depart. In response to questions from The Decatur Daily, Decatur police spokeswoman Irene Cardenas-Martinez this week released this elaboration on officers’ life-saving efforts: “Officers on scene provided Mr. Perkins with medical aid before he was transported to the hospital. An officer retrieved a medical pack and began assessing his injuries while other officers applied pressure to the wounds and applied a tourniquet to one of his legs before medics arrived.”
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