Community asks for answers after officer-involved shooting in Bay Minette
A 32-year-old Black man was shot and killed by police during an altercation during a traffic stop in August. Now some in the community have stated that they question both the circumstances of the death and the policing methods used by the small Baldwin County town’s police department. Saturday, the Bay Minette Justice League held a community meeting where they expressed their concerns about the officer-involved slaying. Otis “OJ” French Jr., a Black resident of the town of 8,119, was stopped by a Bay Minette Police officer for an equipment infraction. Somehow this routine traffic stop went horribly wrong. According to a press release by law enforcement, the officer, who has not been identified, asked French to exit the vehicle to show him the equipment issue. The officer claims that he had no intention of writing a ticket to French but simply issue him a warning. According to the police account, an argument ensued, and French attempted to run away. He was then shot with a taser by the officer. The taser failed to take down French, and a fight followed the tasering. According to the police account, the officer went down in the fight, French got the taser, shot the officer with the taser, and then the police shot French. French was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his wounds. French’s friends and family in the community have expressed skepticism about the official account. Saturday’s meeting followed a protest event on September 1. Attorney and blogger Harry Still III filmed a short video of that remembrance ceremony and march. “Can you give the community some answers?” said Bay Minette Justice League’s Joshua Brown. The Bay Minette Police has rejected calls by the press and the community to release the body cam footage of the event. The Bay Minette Police Department was already facing accusations of engaging in over-aggressive policing. Still told Alabama Today that since Al Tolbert was hired as Bay Minette’s police chief, city revenue from fines and fees on the 8,119 residents has tripled from approximately $300,000 to over $900,000. Some critics have compared the tactics employed by Tolbert and his team to Brookside in Jefferson County. Still, whose legal practice is in Baldwin County, said that under Tolbert, the community, particularly the Black community, have grown to fear their own police and that the growing tension may have boiled over during the French traffic stop. Still was a candidate for attorney general in the May 24 Republican primary. Tolbert has been defended by city leaders, who say that his methods have been effective at limiting crime in the community. The Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit is investigating the officer-involved shooting. The officer remains on administrative leave while the shooting is under investigation. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Prominent GOP leader Perry Hooper Jr. arrested for sexual abuse
Former State Rep. Perry Hooper Jr., age 67, was arrested on Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Service, Alabama Daily News reported. Hooper has been charged with first-degree sexual abuse. He was held on $15,000 bond. The alleged incident occurred at the 100 block of Commerce Street in Montgomery on August 16 at approximately eight p.m., reported WSFA. That is the address of the Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown reported WSFA. Hooper was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in the election of 1983. He served five terms in the Alabama House. Hooper was one of five people that then Governor Robert Bentley interviewed as possible appointees for the U.S. Senate in 2017 following the resignation of Jeff Sessions. Hooper is an active member of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee representing Montgomery County. He is a frequently published political commentator who has had columns published across Alabama and beyond. Hooper was an early backer of Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primary season and chaired the Trump Victory Fund in the 2016 campaign. The Trump bundler was a frequent visitor to the Trump Whitehouse as well as Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Resort in the years following the Trump presidency. Hooper is a licensed insurance salesman and registered state and federal lobbyist. He is a member of the board for the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, a prominent Auburn booster, and serves on the Board of the Montgomery Quarterback Club. The Alabama Republican Party has released a statement condemning sexual abuse. “The Alabama Republican Party strongly condemns all forms of sexual abuse and sexual assault,” the ALGOP said in a statement. “We are committed to personal rights and public safety. We will be monitoring this situation closely as it makes its way through the judicial process.” Hooper’s father, Perry Hooper Sr. – now deceased, was the first Republican Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court since Reconstruction. Hooper is married and has three sons and a number of grandchildren. Alabama Today spoke to Daphne Attorney Harry Still III about this case. Still explained that sexual abuse in the first degree is a class C felony under Alabama law. “Section 13A-6-66. Sexual abuse in the first degree (a) A person commits the crime of sexual abuse in the first degree if he or she does either of the following: (1) Subjects another person to sexual contact by forcible compulsion. (2) Subjects another person to sexual contact who is incapable of consent by reason of being incapacitated. (b) Sexual abuse in the first degree is a Class C felony. Forcible compulsion means to compel by either: (a) use of physical force; or (b) a threat, express or implied, which places a person in fear of immediate death or physical injury to …self or another …, or in fear that he, she or another … will immediately be kidnapped. Someone is intoxicated to the point that they cannot give consent. Incapable of giving consent or incapacitated.” A Montgomery Police spokesperson explained that Hooper was arrested by U.S. Marshals because the Marshals have an agreement with Montgomery Police to arrest criminals charged with violent crimes. This charge meets that standard. Hooper, if convicted, faces a sentence of between one and ten years in prison and a fine up to $15,000. Hooper has simply been charged with a crime. All persons are presumed innocent until they are found guilty by a jury of their peers. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
