Mobile City Council Releases Special Counsel Investigation Findings
Jul 23rd, 2024
Posted in: Public NoticePress Release
Click here to view the full report
MOBILE, AL – Following allegations made by former Mobile Police Department Chief Paul Prine, Mobile City Council has released an investigative report compiled by special counsel William Athanas of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings Law Firm.
Athanas dedicated over 500 work hours during an 8-week period and issued his comprehensive report to the City Council on the afternoon of July 22, 2024.
Athanas was tasked with investigating four categories of allegations, specifically examining the circumstances surrounding the engagement of 321z Insights by the City of Mobile, the Mobile Police Department, and/or the Gulf Coast Technology Center (GCTC) to review the "EchoStop" program. This includes how and why the contract was solicited and presented to the Council, as well as any internal or "peer" review conducted by or at the request of GCTC.
The investigation also covered issues related to the "chain of command" at GCTC (MPD Cyber) and allegations that the Chief of Police was improperly excluded from or unable to use GCTC resources; the circumstances surrounding the alleged breakdown of relations between the City Administration and Chief Prine around November 2023, leading up to discussions in April 2024 about his proposed retirement or resignation; and any allegations by Chief Prine that his written grievances were not properly addressed or investigated by the Administration.
The Council further refined the framework of the Special Counsel’s investigation:
In investigating any and all of these factual areas, the Special Counsel shall only investigate those matters which, if true, would constitute illegal, unethical, or out-of-policy behavior. In doing so, the Special Counsel should in every instance, in accord with best investigatory practices, identify anyone who: (a) committed an alleged violation; (b) precisely what the violation allegedly was; (c) precisely what law, regulation, procedure, standard or practice, or City policy was allegedly violated; and (d) precisely when and where any such alleged violation occurred.
Today, Special Counsel Athanas delivered the report to the City Council finding no illegal, unethical or out-of-policy actions by any City of Mobile employee with one exception. The Special Counsel found that the director of the Gulf Coast Technology Center, Commander
Kevin Levy, acted illegally and/or outside City of Mobile policy in connection with falsely altering or tampering with City documents and public records.
The City Council intends to send the Special Counsel’s report to the District Attorney, the Alabama Attorney General and the Alabama Ethics Commission.
The full report may be reviewed here. Minor redactions have been made to protect the confidentiality of a certain law enforcement initiative and the identities of merit system city employees who were not found to have engaged in illegal, unethical, or out-of-policy activity.
This investigation was a purely fact-finding mission. The Council is very pleased with the meticulous work Mr. Athanas provided and believes it has fulfilled its obligation to investigate these allegations in order to restore public trust in city governance following grievances made by Prine. We encourage citizens to read the entire report detailing Mr. Athanas’ findings while noting that Special Counsel was not asked to provide opinions or advice on any actionable items.
For further inquiries, please contact Director of Council Communications & Community Engagement, Ashley Flores, at ashley.flores@cityofmobile.org or 251-208-7441.