Perkins et al v. City of Decatur Alabama et al

On March 27, 2026, in Decatur, Alabama, Marcus Perkins, an African American man, was subjected to a traffic stop that escalated into a violent encounter. Officers Michael Durbin and Sarah Linwood pulled Perkins over for a broken taillight. Body camera footage revealed Perkins compliant with commands, yet Officer Durbin deployed a taser and delivered multiple baton strikes, causing a fractured arm and severe lacerations. Perkins' wife, Angela, a passenger who filmed the incident on her phone, was also forcibly detained. The Perkins family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Decatur and the involved officers, alleging excessive force, unreasonable seizure, and a municipal policy of condoning police violence. The city denied liability, asserting officers acted within policy.

The trial concluded in late 2026. The jury returned a mixed verdict, finding Officer Durbin liable for excessive force, awarding $4.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages to Marcus Perkins, while exonerating Officer Linwood. The court granted partial summary judgment for the City on the Monell claim, ruling the municipality was not liable due to insufficient evidence of an official custom or policy, though a consent decree mandating police reform was later negotiated to settle the remaining claims.

The central dispute was whether Officer Durbin's use of a taser and baton against a non-resisting subject constituted excessive force violating the Fourth Amendment, and whether the City of Decatur maintained a custom or policy of deliberate indifference toward officer training and supervision that directly caused the constitutional injuries.

The graphic body camera footage sparked widespread protests in Decatur and across Alabama, intensifying national debate over police violence against Black motorists. The Decatur City Council faced pressure to implement strict use-of-force reforms, including de-escalation mandates and independent oversight boards. The split verdict renewed legislative pushes to reform qualified immunity doctrines and lower evidentiary hurdles for municipal liability under Monell, influencing similar litigation strategies in multiple Southern states. Community trust in the Decatur Police Department severely diminished, prompting federal mediators to intervene.