For three months, protesters have gathered in downtown Decatur and outside the mayor’s house to call for justice for Stephen Perkins, a Black man killed by police in late September.

Today, Tab Bowling, the mayor of Decatur, announced that demonstrators will need to get a permit for future protests, effective this evening.

“Since the protestors first arrived in my neighborhood I have shared my concerns with many of my trusted advisors,” the mayor explained in a statement.

“Understanding that this is a necessary step in the process of healing I asked our police chief to allow demonstrators to remain unhindered outside of my residence even though some of their behavior was alarming and certainly disruptive to many of my neighbors, and to them l apologize.”

“Shortly thereafter I began receiving many phone calls and complaints from residents in the downtown area. I consulted with our Legal Department and then asked our police chief to enforce the local noise ordinance that limits the loud and disruptive behavior to 10pm,” he added. “After several weeks of continued protests outside of my home I want to assure those concerned that I have heard your voices.”

The mayor said he is now ready to follow the advice that the city’s legal department and police chief have given him to prevent “disruptions” in neighborhoods.

“After again consulting with our Legal Department I have conceded to what they and law enforcement have been advising me from the beginning, that the right to protest should not and may not infringe on the rights of others and the rule of law must be restored to allow peace for all of our citizens,” he said in the statement.

“I absolutely respect our Constitutional Rights to free speech, to petition the government for a redress of grievances but legal precedent is clear that the government has the ability to place certain restrictions on public speech when it infringes upon the rights and peace of others.”

“There are existing Alabama State laws concerning disorderly conduct, disorderly persons and failure of disorderly persons to disperse that may pertain to this situation. Those and all other applicable federal and state laws and local rules and ordinances will be enforced for the purpose of providing a peaceful atmosphere for all residents of the city.”

Perkins died after an officer shot him in the front yard of his home on Sept. 29.

During the early days of the protests, police arrested some demonstrators on charges of disorderly conduct. But since then the protests have mostly continued without arrests.

The mayor has fired three police officers involved in the shooting and put a fourth on indefinite suspension without pay on Dec. 7, following an internal investigation. They have all appealed the decision to the City’s personnel board, with hearings expected in the next few weeks.

The family has sued in federal court. And the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has completed its investigation into any possible criminal culpability by the officers and forwarded the files to the Morgan County District Attorney’s office.

The City had identified the officers as Bailey Marquette, Christopher Mukkadam, Joey Williams. The family’s lawsuit said Marquette shot Perkins. An attorney for the officer previously declined to provide any comments to AL.com

The family’s suit against the officers also names towing company AllStar Recovery, LLC and Pentagon Federal Credit Union, which financed Perkins’ vehicle, as defendants. AllStar and Pentagon Federal did not respond to earlier requests for comment.

Security camera footage released by the Perkins family showed that it was dark outside when Perkins walked out into his yard while shining a light and shouted for the tow truck driver to put his vehicle down. Police appeared to emerge from the dark as an officer shouted for Perkins to get on the ground. A split second later, 18 gunshots rang out.

On the night of his death, police said, Perkins had a gun and threatened a tow truck driver who was trying to repossess his vehicle. The tow truck driver left but returned later with police, who shot and killed Perkins, a 39-year-old husband, father, and gym enthusiast.