A Message from Mayor Stimpson - February 4
Feb 4th, 2021
Good evening,
It is 7:40 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, and I am writing to give you an update from the City of Mobile.
Today, the Mobile County Health Department reports 33,819 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 242 cases. To review the most recent detailed report, click here.
As a reminder, there is an upcoming drive-thru vaccination event happening at Belsaw Middle School in Mount Vernon on Saturday, February 6. You can find more about that event and other information about COVID-19 vaccines on the City of Mobile’s website. You can also find additional information about the Mount Vernon clinic hosted by the Mobile County Health Department by clicking here.
Over the summer, my administration began working with the Mobile Police Department to review and release to the public the policies and procedures our men and women in uniform follow. As our conversations continued, we realized it would benefit the public and our police officers to expand the number of MPD personnel required to wear body cameras while they’re on duty.
Since our City first began the use of body cameras a few years ago, the focus has been on personnel who routinely interact with the public like traffic and patrol officers. While we initially looked at expanding the program to include supervising officers, we’ve since begun evaluating the logistics of purchasing body cameras for all of our sworn officers regardless of their rank or the unit they work with at MPD.
Obviously, there will need to be exceptions for certain situations like conducting investigations or interacting with confidential sources, but our plan going forward is to make sure every officer who interacts with the general public is outfitted with a body camera. This will be an investment, but I believe it is one that will provide greater transparency while helping to better protect our officers and citizens.
Having body cameras available protects good officers from frivolous or unfounded complaints, but it also helps identify when mistakes or misconduct do occur. We are currently evaluating ways to fund the purchase of additional body cameras for our officers within the MPD’s current budget, and we’ll be providing information as we continue to work toward this goal moving forward.
Today our team members gave presentations to representatives from the Mobile Area Association of Realtors and Leadership Mobile detailing some of my administration’s priorities for the coming year. We call these presentations “Impact Mobile” sessions because this year I believe we have an opportunity to do some things that will have a positive impact on our City for years to come.
Two of our top priorities remain finding ways to grow the city and increasing our connectivity among each other and to other parts of the country through capital improvement and infrastructure projects. If you follow this newsletter, you know there’s no shortage of things happening at the City of Mobile.
This morning I read a passage from Paul's letter to the Philippians that encouraged them to focus on things that are “true, noble and right.” The footnote asks the reader to examine what we put into our own minds through television, books and other sources. Some say you are what you eat, but I believe you are what you think as well. I have always tried to focus on those wholesome and positive things, and believe when we remember to do that, we get more wholesome and positive outcomes in our daily lives.
Let’s all try to be more mindful about the things we’re taking in.
Sleep tight,