Hunter Pepper exits council meeting during public comments
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — During Monday night’s Decatur city council work session, councilman Hunter Pepper excused himself from the public comment portion of the meeting.
Pepper, citing the past six months since the police shooting death of Stephen Perkins, says the comments have been ‘irrelevant and unproductive during this time of recovery.’
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Before his exit, Pepper said during the comments ‘people are disrespectful and have disgusting attitudes and carry themselves horribly, as tensions continue to be high at city council meetings.
“I feel that public comments are becoming irrelevant to council meetings and city businesses,” Pepper said. “The things that are being stated such as the threats and the continued harassment from individuals and it’s been continuous on from there, so I will no longer sit in during public comments throughout any of the meetings.”
After Pepper’s statement, he followed Mayor Tab Bowling, who continued to exit the meetings during public comments.
Pepper gave News 19 an official statement, saying:
Public comment is relevant if it’s productive. It’s irrelevant if it’s not productive. It’s the same people with the same statements every week. I’m tired of it, they are hurting our city and have no clue that they are doing so. They are disrespectful and having disgusting attitudes and carry themselves horribly. They yell that others need to grow when I feel that the growth they speak on needs to come from them before casting a stone onto another.
Decatur City Councilman Hunter Pepper
In January, Bowling decided to walk out while describing the session as baseless after he said he received threats directed ‘towards me, my family and other council members.’
Both Bowling and Pepper said they would not remain for public comments in the future.
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