Mobile City Council narrows search for special counsel: Investigating former police chief’s claims
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The Mobile City Council has narrowed the search for a special counsel to investigate the claims former Police Chief Paul Prine made against the city.
The search has now gone from five potential firms to two.
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In Tuesday’s Mobile City Council Committee meeting, District 4 Council Member Ben Reynolds read the first draft of a resolution that sets the scope and topics for the investigation.
Reynolds said the two firms are based out of Huntsville and Birmingham to maintain an unbiased stance in the investigation.
“My goal would be that we hire them, and they proceed on in the investigation, get everything done on time and in budget,” Reynolds said.
The current budget for the investigation is set at $100,000. After the firm is named, they will have 45 days to complete the investigation. The resolution also opens the door for a longer investigation period if needed, but Reynolds does not believe it will be necessary.
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“The firms that we have talked to say it’s well within reason to do it in 45 days,” Reynolds said. “Our hope would be they can get it done sooner.”
The investigation will focus on four areas.
The first topic digs into the allegations Prine made about the city’s dealing with a Florida-based cyber company. That company is 321z Insights, Prine previously told News 5 that the company was never vetted by him.
Prine claimed that the company has no online footprint, work number or storefront. Meanwhile, the city said the company’s owner, Mark Baker, has an extensive career in cyber security and has worked with the city before.
The second topic will look into the issues related to the “chain of command” at the Gulf Coast Technology Center, which is also known as the MPD Cyber. Prine claimed he was improperly cut out and unable to use the center’s resources. Commander Kevin Levy is over the division and according to the city, Prine and Levy had a fragmented relationship.
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The investigation will also look into the events leading up to Prine’s termination. The resolution will review the “breakdown of relations” between the city administration and Prine from November 2023 to April of this year.
The last thing the investigation will look into are the written grievances Prine claims were not properly addressed or investigated.
Prine told News 5 on Tuesday that he filed a complaint against Chief of Staff James Barber for reportedly releasing the Jawan Dallas autopsy report, Dallas was tased in police custody and died soon after. Prine also filed a grievance against Public Safety Director Robert Lasky for allegedly blaming him for the failure of Operation Echo Stop.
The City Council hopes to narrow their options to one firm by Tuesday.
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