This is an opinion column.
Earlier this summer, the City of Huntsville won the Golden Padlock Award from the Investigation Editors and Reporters.
Now Huntsville appears to want a chain to go with it.
It wasn’t enough, it seems, that Huntsville tried to excuse and cover up a murder committed by one of its police officers.
Now Huntsville wants to cover up the cover-up.
The Golden Padlock is a distinction the association gives to the worst public information scofflaw for its “dedication to secrecy and impressive skill in information suppression by officials working tirelessly to keep vital knowledge hidden from the public.”
But these folks have learned nothing. And they don’t think you care.
Let’s start with the beginning.
In 2018, William Ben Darby responded to a call from a suicidal man, Jeff Parker, but he wasn’t the first officer on the scene. Two other officers beat him there, including one who was trying to talk Parker down from the doorway to Parker’s home.
But a frustrated and anxious Darby, cussed at that officer and pushed his way into the home. He pointed his shotgun at Parker’s head and told him to put down what appeared to be a handgun (it would turn out to be a flare gun). Darby later said he saw the gun move, so he shot Parker in the face, killing him. How Parker was supposed to put the gun down without moving it, I’ve never heard explained.
It was inexplicable to a jury, too. Last year, a jury in Madison County found Darby guilty of murder.
RELATED: Bodycams reveal a good cop, a bad cop and a mayor who picked the wrong side
After the verdict, AL.com asked the judge to release bodycam footage of the shooting. We had asked for this footage from the city before but those requests were denied. However, the judge agreed that the footage, which had been used as evidence during the trial, was a public document and released it — over Huntsville’s objections.
And throughout that process, and even after the jury’s verdict, the city and the police department continued to defend Darby.
First with their words, when Mayor Tommy Battle and then-Police Chief Mark McMurray said they disagreed with the jury’s verdict.
But also with money — taxpayers’ money. And all this, while still not allowing taxpayers to see the video, even though they argued he was acting in accordance with city policy.
The city kept Darby on its payroll for weeks after his guilty verdict. Later the chief argued that he couldn’t fire Darby because, despite having murdered a man on the job, Darby hadn’t broken department policy.
This is what all the city won the Golden Padlock for.
But now it has gone even further.
The city paid for Darby’s legal fees, including on outside lawyers who fought to keep the bodycams secret. And it continues to pay outside lawyers to defend the city against a civil lawsuit related to the case.
Recently, my colleague Ashley Remkus asked to see those legal bills.
The city told her no.
According to the city attorney’s office, those records would violate the city’s right to attorney-client privilege.
Hogwash.
First of all, I’ve asked for similar documents from other cities before, including Birmingham, where I got them. This sort of request is common.
This sort of denial is not.
When necessary, legal billing records have been redacted to hide narratives that might disclose what the lawyers were talking about.
That’s fine.
What has typically been left is no more revealing than a receipt, with a lot of little numbers adding up to one big number.
That’s what Huntsville doesn’t want you to see — how much its citizens are paying to defend a murderer.
They don’t think Huntsville voters care about the secrecy.
And why would they?
Despite a dead body. Despite an officer in prison. Despite a police department that turned into a national embarrassment. Despite untold tax dollars draining into a hole they made …
None of them have been shown the door.
They stick taxpayers with a secret bill, and meanwhile, none of them have paid a price.
What reason do Huntsville officials have to say what their stubbornness and stupidity have cost taxpayers — when the silence hasn’t cost them anything at all?
Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group, 2020 winner of the Walker Stone Award, winner of the 2021 SPJ award for opinion writing, and 2021 winner of the Molly Ivins prize for political commentary.
You can follow his work on his Facebook page, The War on Dumb. And on Twitter. And on Instagram.
More from Kyle Whitmire
Operative group Matrix hired detective who surveilled Southern Co. CEO
Kay Ivey can’t delegate Alabama’s unemployment hell anymore
Alabama Democrats learn nominee for governor is anti-abortion. Oops.
The secret’s out. Huntsville is nation’s worst transparency scofflaw.
Robert Bentley is still lying (and we took notes)
An innocent man is on death row. Alabama officials seem OK with that.
Ad Choices