HUNTSVILLE POLICE REVIEW REPORT BY INDEPENDENT COUNSEL TO THE HUNTSVILLE POLICE CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL ADDRESSING THE EVENTS OF JUNE 1 AND 3, 2020 Elizabeth H. Huntley Jackson R. Sharman III Independent Counsel Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC The Clark Building 400 20th Street North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 April 22, 2021 HUNTSVILLE POLICE REVIEW TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 II. Preliminary Observations ........................................................................................ 1 III. Summary Conclusions and Recommendations ...................................................... 2 A. Particular Issues Frequently Raised ....................................................... 2 1. Rubber Bullets ............................................................................... 2 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 2 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 3 2. Rooftop Snipers aiming into crowds ............................................. 3 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 3 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 3 3 The use of “beanbag” shotguns against protesters ....................... 3 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 3 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 4 4. The use of “drones” at the Floyd protests .................................... 4 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 4 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 4 5. The use of chemical agents to disperse protesters ....................... 5 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 5 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 5 6. The Gathering and Analysis of Intelligence ................................. 5 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 5 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 5 B. Broader Issues Noted in the Course of Review ....................................... 6 1. Poor communication ...................................................................... 6 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 6 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 6 2. Lack of self-awareness ................................................................... 7 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 7 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 7 3. Lack of command and control over inconsistent use-of-force policies ........................................................................ 8 i HUNTSVILLE POLICE REVIEW a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 8 b. Recommendations ............................................................. 8 4. Lack of cooperation ........................................................................ 8 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 8 b. Recommendations ............................................................... 9 5. Civilian police oversight review board .......................................... 9 a. Summary observations and conclusions ............................ 9 b. Recommendations ............................................................. 10 THE SUMMER OF GEORGE FLOYD: THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT AND PROTESTS IN HUNTSVILLE I. George Floyd and Nationwide Unrest .............................................................. 10 II. Events in Huntsville ......................................................................................... 12 A. Deaths of Dana Fletcher and Crystal Ragland ..................................... 12 B. The Controversy of the Confederate Monument ................................... 12 III. The Huntsville City Council ............................................................................. 13 IV. The Huntsville Police Department ................................................................... 13 V. The Resolution, the CAC, and Independent Counsel ...................................... 14 A. The Resolution ........................................................................................ 14 B. The CAC .................................................................................................. 16 C. Independent Counsel ............................................................................. 16 D. Summary of Review ............................................................................... 18 E. Limitations on the CAC ......................................................................... 19 THE REVIEW I. The CAC’s Initial Work ..................................................................................... 20 A. CAC Meetings ......................................................................................... 20 B. Public Listening Sessions ...................................................................... 21 C. Organizational Listening Sessions ........................................................ 21 D. Description of Listening Sessions .......................................................... 22 1. August 12 and 28, 2020, Public Listening Sessions for Individuals ................................................................................... 22 2. September 17, 2020, Public Listening Session for Organizations & Groups .............................................................. 22 3. Summary of issues that individuals and groups presented ....... 22 ii HUNTSVILLE POLICE REVIEW II. The Independent Counsel’s Initial Work ......................................................... 23 A. Uptake of Public Submissions Through Independent Website ............ 23 1. Lack of Clear Exits and Lack of Protester Violence ................... 24 2. Citizen-Officer Interactions......................................................... 24 3. Inability to Hear LRAD or Megaphone Directions .................... 25 4. Use of Force.................................................................................. 25 B. Information Requests to and Responses of Certain Agencies and Entities ............................................................................................ 26 1. Preservation Letters .................................................................... 27 2. Requests for Production .............................................................. 27 3. Follow Up Letters ........................................................................ 28 4. Responses ..................................................................................... 28 a. Huntsville Police Department i. The MOU that governs the materials that the City and HPD produced to the CAC................ 28 ii. HPD’s response following the MOU ...................... 29 b. City of Huntsville .................................................................... 30 c. Madison County and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office ... 30 d. City of Madison and Madison Police Department ................. 31 e. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency ....................................... 31 C. Interview Requests and HPD Refusal 1. Timeline ....................................................................................... 32 2. HPD’s Refusal to Compel Officer Interviews ............................. 32 a. The Utility of Officer Interviews. .......................................... 32 b. The City’s Position and Rationale .......................................... 33 c. Overview of Garrity................................................................. 33 d. Garrity Would Have Protected HPD Officers in Their Interviews ............................................................................... 34 e. Alabama Law Would Have Made HPD Officers’ Testimony Confidential Except in Limited Circumstances .................... 35 f. Applying the Status to Interviews of HPD Officers ............... 36 g. The CAC Wanted HPD’s Cooperation for Officer Interviews ............................................................................... 37 h. This Report Lacks Testimony from Useful Witnesses: HPD Officers on the Ground .................................................. 38 D. Gathering and Use of Intelligence ......................................................... 38 E. Video ....................................................................................................... 39 iii HUNTSVILLE POLICE REVIEW 1. June 1 a. General Comments ................................................................. 40 b. General Timeline .................................................................... 41 c. Specific Observations i. Positive Interactions .............................................. 45 ii. Inconsistencies or Unsupported Claims ................ 46 iii. Confusion ................................................................ 46 iv. Officers’ Frustrations, Uses of Force, and Apparent Indifference ............................................ 46 2. June 3 a. General Comments ................................................................. 48 b. General Timeline ...................................................................