Steve Perkins of Decatur, AL: Immunity Fight and Federal Lawsuit

Steve Perkins, a 39-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by Decatur, Alabama, police officer Mac Marquette outside his own home in the early hours of September 29, 2023, during an attempted vehicle repossession. The Steve Perkins Decatur AL case has since produced a murder indictment against Marquette, a federal wrongful-death lawsuit by Perkins’ widow, and a drawn-out immunity fight now before the Alabama Supreme Court. Marquette’s criminal trial is set for September 21, 2026, if the justices deny his appeal.¹

What Happened the Night of the Shooting

Tow-truck driver Caleb Combs had been hired by a creditor to repossess Perkins’ pickup truck for missed payments. On an initial attempt, Perkins came outside and pointed a gun at Combs’ chest, conduct investigators later characterized as the misdemeanor of menacing.² Combs left and called Decatur police. Three officers — Marquette, Joey Williams, and Christopher Mukkadam — met him at a nearby tow yard and returned with him to the Perkins home shortly before 2:00 a.m.³

The officers stayed out of sight while Combs tried again to hook up the truck. Perkins came back outside armed. A light mounted on his handgun appeared to sweep toward Combs. Marquette rounded the corner, shouted “Police, get on the ground,” and fired roughly 17 shots in a matter of seconds. Perkins never fired. His gun was found empty, though with the trigger depressed; state investigator Jamie King acknowledged it was unclear when the trigger had been pulled.³ In a later recorded interview, Marquette told investigators, “That was the most scared I’ve ever been.”⁴

The Disputed Evidence

Body camera footage became the center of the case. Video confirmed that Perkins briefly pointed his gun in Marquette’s direction. Other footage in the seconds before the shots appeared to show Perkins raising his arms with the weapon-mounted light pointing upward, which prosecutors argued could reflect an attempt to surrender.⁴ The Alabama Solicitor General later argued Perkins did not even know the officers were there when he was shot.⁵

State investigator Jamie King’s testimony cut both ways. He acknowledged the officers had a “reasonable belief that Perkins was going to use deadly force,” but concluded they had “exceeded the scope” of their responsibilities. The officers had no court order for the repossession, were not positioned to keep the peace or to investigate the earlier menacing, and had stayed hidden until seconds before shots were fired. King also said Marquette had the opportunity to potentially avoid a violent confrontation.⁴

The footage was leaked publicly in March 2024 before any official release. The Perkins family said the video “confirmed that Stephen was recklessly ambushed and murdered by the Decatur Police Department.” The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said it had not released the footage and had turned its investigative file over to the Morgan County District Attorney in December 2023.⁶

Firings and the Murder Indictment

Decatur Police Chief Todd Pinion determined that department policies had been violated during the incident.⁷ In December 2023, Mayor Tab Bowling fired three of the four officers at the scene and suspended the fourth.⁸

On January 5, 2024, Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson announced that a grand jury had unanimously indicted Mac Bailey Marquette, then 23, for murder. The same grand jury unanimously concluded that no other officer at the scene had violated Alabama law. Marquette turned himself in at the Morgan County Jail on January 4 and was booked on a $30,000 bond.⁹¹⁰ Nicholas Perkins, Steve’s brother, called the single indictment a “baby step of justice,” saying the family believed all four officers should have faced charges.¹¹

The Stand Your Ground Immunity Fight

Marquette pleaded not guilty and has spent the years since trying to avoid trial altogether by claiming immunity under Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law. The legal question is narrow: was Marquette lawfully acting as a police officer when he shot Perkins, or was he operating outside his authority by helping with a repossession that had no court order? Alabama law prohibits police from assisting in vehicle repossessions without a court order, and prosecutors have argued the officers were effectively trespassing to make a repo possible that could not have proceeded without them.¹²

After a March 2025 immunity hearing, Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott denied the claim, finding Marquette had failed to show a “clear legal right to immunity” and was operating outside the scope of his duties.¹² In August 2025, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld that denial, while ruling Marquette could still present a self-defense argument to a jury at trial.¹³

Marquette appealed again. On January 28, 2026, the Alabama Supreme Court heard oral arguments at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Defense attorney John Douglas Lloyd argued the officers were lawfully present under Alabama’s self-repossession statute and were there to keep the peace. Solicitor General Barrett Bowdre countered that “officer Marquette was not acting as an officer when he went to facilitate the repossession that would not have occurred but for his presence.”⁵ Attorney General Steve Marshall had filed a brief in July 2025 arguing Marquette should face trial, contending there were “open questions regarding whether he had a legal right” to be at the residence and that a jury should weigh the evidence.¹⁴

As of mid-2026, the Supreme Court has not ruled. If it grants immunity, the murder charge is dismissed. If it denies the appeal, trial is set for September 21, 2026, before Judge Elliott in Morgan County Circuit Court, with more than 60 witnesses expected. That date is already the seventh setting; earlier settings in April, June, and November 2025, and January and June 2026, were pushed back, most recently because of a defense attorney’s scheduling conflict with a training conference.¹¹⁵

The Federal Wrongful-Death Lawsuit

Steve Perkins’ widow, Catrela Perkins, filed a federal wrongful-death and excessive-force suit in December 2023 against Marquette, the three other officers at the scene, the City of Decatur, and the tow-truck operators.¹⁶ In August 2024, a federal judge dismissed nearly all defendants, finding no specific city policy to support municipal liability and that the non-shooting officers were protected by immunity.¹⁷

The family refiled in February 2025. The amended complaint added allegations about a Decatur Police Department performance system called “Stats,” which the suit says tied officer pay, promotions, and assignments to metrics that incentivized escalating encounters rather than de-escalation.¹⁸ The judge again dismissed the City of Decatur and officers Mukkadam, Williams, and Sergeant Vance Summers, finding the arrest-incentive policy did not encourage deadly force and that the other officers had no opportunity to intervene. Marquette remains a defendant on the excessive-force and wrongful-death claims, and the civil case is effectively on hold while the criminal case plays out.¹⁹

What Has Changed in Decatur

In May 2024, the Decatur City Council passed an ordinance requiring tow-truck operators to notify the police department at least 30 minutes before a planned repossession. Activists had initially pushed for a ban on nighttime repossessions and settled for the notification rule.¹⁶

In July 2024, the City Council hired Huntsville-based Green Research and Technology for an independent review of police practices. The 43-page report, released in January 2025, explicitly excluded the Perkins shooting and other matters in active litigation but described broader institutional problems: a lack of unified command, “separated cultures/subcultures” undermining leadership, and instances of officers antagonizing protesters. The report identified 92 complaints from 2023 and 2024 that had been logged as informal “inquiries” rather than tracked as formal complaints, including allegations of excessive force, unlawful arrests, and theft. Reviewers also found that body camera videos had been miscategorized and deleted, preventing investigation of some claims. Chief Pinion said he had begun implementing the recommended changes.²⁰

Through her attorney, Lee Merritt, Catrela Perkins secured a meeting with the U.S. Department of Justice to raise what they described as a “pattern of civil and criminal abuses” by the department.²¹

1
1819 News. Murder Trial Pushed Back for Former Decatur Officer Accused in Stephen Perkins Shooting Death
2
AL.com. Decatur Police Officer Failed to Prove He Killed Steve Perkins in Self-Defense, Judge Rules
3
NBC News. New Body Camera Video Shows Moments Alabama Police Fatally Shoot Armed Man
4
AL.com. Decatur Police Body Cam Footage of Steve Perkins Shooting Death Shown in Court
5
Spectrum News. Alabama Supreme Court Hears Marquette Immunity Appeal
6
WAFF. Body Camera Video Leaked in Shooting Death of Steve Perkins
7
WAFF. Decatur Police Chief: Officers Who Shot Steve Perkins Violated Policy
8
PBS NewsHour. Former Alabama Police Officer Charged With Murder in Shooting of Black Man
9
Alabama Political Reporter. One Officer Charged With Murder in the Death of Steve Perkins
10
Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. Press Release: Mac Bailey Marquette Arrest
11
CNN. Stephen Perkins Shooting: Alabama Officer Charged
12
WBRC. Alabama Supreme Court Hears Former Decatur Officer’s Plea for Immunity
13
WAFF. Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Rejects Attempt to Toss Ex-Decatur Cop’s Murder Charge
14
AL.com. Alabama Attorney General Pushes for Ex-Decatur Police Officer to Face Murder Trial in Steve Perkins Death
15
Rocket City Now. Ex-Decatur Officer Mac Marquette Seeks June 2026 Murder Trial Delay
16
Alabama Reflector. One Year After Decatur Man’s Death at Hands of Police, Activism and Legal Battles Continue
17
AL.com. Several Officers Dismissed From Wrongful Death Lawsuit in North Alabama
18
WAFF. Widow of Steve Perkins Files Amended Lawsuit, Cites Police System in Fatal Shooting
19
WHNT. Perkins Family Attorney Discusses Case Against Former Decatur Police Officer Mac Marquette
20
Alabama Reflector. Decatur Police Department Review Calls for Improved Communication, Complaints Process
21
WHNT. DOJ Agrees to Meet With Catrela Perkins About Community Concerns