Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine out, Mayor Stimpson says good luck

Haylee Kennedy
·2 min read
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MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The Mobile City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to terminate Police Chief Paul Prine.

“If I’m going to be terminated for being the chief of police, I’ll sleep well tonight,” Prine said.

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The decision was a result of a request made by Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The vote came one week after the Kenyan Brown report on the police department’s policies and procedures was released.

“While it was a necessary vote today, there are no winners today,” Stimpson said.

“I don’t know if I should be flattered or humiliated that they spent taxpayer dollars to hire an outsider to come in and do what I consider a very poor investigation that was certainly one-sided,” Prine said.

The city council also approved an investigation into the allegations Prine made against the city since he was placed on administrative leave. The claims he made include the city has tried to control the police department and plotted with others to silence Prine.

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Prine also claimed that the city has paid $92,000 for a third-party report on the Echo Stop crime-fighting program that was written by a city employee.

The city sent investigation documents over to the Attorney General on Tuesday morning.

“The investigation that we think is the most productive has to do with the Attorney General, which we have teed up and sent him that information,” Stimpson said. “The city council has the right to do a further investigation, but I do think the best investigation would be by those equipped to do it.”

Stimpson said that as of right now he is not finished with being the Mayor of Mobile and plans to run again in 2025.

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However, the idea of whether Prine will run is still unclear.

“I’ve never had really an inclination to run,” Prine said. “But who knows, maybe I will.”

The timeline for appointing a new police chief has not been set. Stimpson said the city still needs to do its homework to ensure the right decision is made.

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