Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson reacts to investigator’s report on former police chief’s allegations

MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The Mobile City Council special investigator released his report to city leaders Tuesday regarding former Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine’s allegations. The investigator found that some of Prine’s allegations were true, but the “vast majority” were not.

The investigator’s report has not been made public; however, Mayor Sandy Stimpson released a statement to the media about the investigation.

In his statement, Stimpson described the investigation as “a long and distracting saga, created by a disgruntled and misdirected employee.”

Prine makes allegations

The investigation covered four topics: 321z Insights , the chain of command, termination, and written grievances.

Prine made a number of allegations , which were listed in a previous city council resolution. Prine claimed:

• Improper administration of the Mobile Police Department
• Lack of control over the Mobile Police Department intelligence division, also referred to as the MPD Cyber of the Gulf Coast Technology Center
• Alleged failure or deficiencies in the “ShotSpotter” program and the commissioning of a peer review or other investigation of same by 321z Insights LLC via Council resolution 21-1249 in November of 2023
• Failure of the city to address or resolve written grievances filed by Chief Prine
• Collusion between city officials and/or third parties in an attempt to silence or else remove Chief Prine from his position
• Improper attempts to control or run the Mobile Police Department by members of the City Administration outside of the Mobile Police Department
• Allegations that contracts have been improperly entered into without the consent of the Mobile City Council.

The special investigator found no violations in Prine’s claims made about the chain of command, termination, or written grievances. Still, there was an issue with 321z Insights and Mobile Police Intelligence Commander and Division Commander Kevin Levy, News 5 has learned.

News 5 learned earlier today during a city council meeting that the investigator reportedly found that Levy provided false information and tampered with evidence. The investigation will be handed over to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office for further review.

Attorney Chris Callahan, who represents Levy, will have a news conference at 5 p.m. today to refute statements about his client.

News 5 will update this article with Callahan’s response when it’s available.

Mayor responds to new report

Stimpson said he was grateful that the names of several city employees and public servants were cleared.

“As Mayor, I am responsible for my staff and the leadership I put in place over City departments,” said Stimpson. “I made the decision to hire Paul Prine. I made the decision to fire him. I regret that I didn’t do it sooner.”

Stimpson said that if he had fired Prine sooner, it would have “saved thousands of taxpayer’s dollars and saved countless wasted hours” defending their staff’s false allegations.

Prine was placed on administrative leave in April before being fired after an investigation into the Mobile Police Department by Former Attorney General Kenyan Brown found issues with leadership at the department.

Mayor’s full statement

View the complete statement from Stimpson below:

“Today, the City Council’s special investigator submitted his report outlining his investigation and findings into allegations made by Paul Prine after he was placed on administrative leave.

The Special Investigator’s report represents the conclusion to a long and distracting saga, created by a disgruntled and misdirected employee. With it brings a mix of emotions.

I am grateful that this report has proven that the vast majority of Paul Prine’s many meandering allegations were simply never true. It clears the name of several city employees and career public servants who never deserved to have their integrity questioned so publicly or so recklessly.

As Mayor, I am responsible for my staff and the leadership I put in place over City departments. I made the decision to hire Paul Prine. I made the decision to fire him. I regret that I didn’t do it sooner.

Had I done so, it would have saved thousands of taxpayer’s dollars and saved countless wasted hours defending our staff against his false allegations. I’m angry about the time wasted and the money expended.

It is unfortunate that the Special Counsel characterized the situation within MPD leadership as dysfunctional. That unfairly cast aspersions on an incredible group of men and women in the department and its leadership positions.

His report also makes allegations about the way a draft version of the 321Z contract was handled. While we disagree with his characterizations around the drafting process of this contract, we take any allegation of a crime or misconduct very seriously.

It is important to note that there is no evidence of illegal or unethical monetary gain regarding this contract. However, after reading the report yesterday afternoon, I immediately sent it to Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood for review and action.

Additionally, we sent the findings to the Alabama Ethics Commission and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) this morning. The special counsel is correct that there was a problem within MPD’s leadership, and we took steps to deal with it.

Let me be clear, the Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety were acting consistently under my direction. Hindsight shows that one person caused this dysfunction and disruption because he could not adhere to the chain of command and follow the directives of his supervisors. He is no longer here, and we are moving forward.

I want to thank the special prosecutor for acknowledging that my administration did exactly what we said we would do. We gave them everything they asked of us and fully cooperated with their investigation.

Most importantly, thank you to those who have been praying for us and for our City. We have felt support from the many citizens who have reached out to provide words of encouragement. I want the citizens to know that I am as proud as ever to serve you as Mayor.”

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