Mobile City Council to vote on appointment of permanent police chief

MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The Mobile City Council is set to consider the mayor’s appointment of Interim Police Chief William Randy Jackson as the police department’s permanent chief.

The resolution would be before the council as a first read. Per council rules, the item must lay over for one week before a final vote in the Sept. 24 meeting. Though unlikely, the council could choose to waive the rules and vote in the Sept. 17 meeting.

The council can hold the item over longer than the two-week time frame to get the supermajority vote needed to pass the item. To pass, the item would need at least five of seven votes.

In April, Jackson was named the Interim Chief of the Mobile Police Department after former Police Chief Paul Prine was placed on administrative leave by Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The decision to place Prine on leave was made after a third-party report of the police department’s policies and procedures was finalized by former U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown .

According to the Mobile Police Department’s website, Jackson is a veteran of the department, working his way through the ranks beginning as a Cadet in 1995.

He has commanded the Field Operations Division and the Investigative Operations Division during his career. He also served as a task force officer on the Drug Enforcement Administration Drug Task Force.

Jackson is a Chickasaw native and a graduate of Vigor High School and Faulkner University.

He is married and has four daughters.

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