Despite arrests and police confrontations in Decatur during the weekend, protesters vow to continue seeking justice in the police killing of Stephen Perkins.

Protest organizer Briona Watkins said she counted eight arrests for disorderly conduct over the weekend, including one for cursing and others for stepping into the street, rather than remaining on sidewalks.

Hundreds of people marched through downtown to protest the death of 39-year-old Perkins, a gym-enthusiast shot by police in his front yard in the middle of the night on Sept. 29.

A Decatur Police Department spokesperson told AL.com there were “multiple arrests,” over the weekend. She did not provide any other information.

[Read more: Decatur councilman calls for firing of officer who killed Stephen Perkins, ouster of chief]

One protester, Kurt White, said she suffered a concussion when four police officers threw her to the ground.

“I ran to get closer to the crowd, and they slammed me on the ground,” she told AL.com. “They dove for my feet and knocked me sideways. I suffered a concussion. So, some things might be a little spotty right now, with my memory.”

A live video feed shared to Facebook showed police warning that they would arrest anyone who used curse words. Watkins said police arrested one of her friends, a woman who has attended protests every day since the shooting, for cursing.

“That is absolutely ridiculous,” she said. “Absolutely ridiculous.”

Another protester, Michele McCrary, told AL.com she witnessed the arrest. She said the police ran up and told the woman she was under arrest because they had a recording of her cursing. “You are under arrest for cursing out here in the public,” an officer told the woman on a video recording viewed by AL.com.

Video showed police pursue a man after he stepped onto the street to pick up a bullhorn that had fallen to the ground.

Watkins said the arrests did not weaken their resolve to continue protesting. “It didn’t,” she said in a text message to AL.com Tuesday. “If anything, it made us go harder.”

As the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency continues investigating the shooting, protesters continue calling for justice, accountability and transparency.

Watkins said there will be a community revival event outside Decatur City Hall tonight at 5:30.

On the night of the shooting, the police said, officers went to Perkins’ home sometime after 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 29. Earlier that night, police said in a news release, Perkins had threatened a tow truck driver attempting to repossess his vehicle. The tow truck driver left, but returned with police. In the news release, police said that Perkins pointed a gun at one of them during the incident.

Home security camera video captured by a neighbor suggests that Perkins was not aware of police presence as he came into his yard that night. The footage showed that a police officer started shooting at him immediately after shouting for Perkins to drop the gun.

Decatur resident Veronda Sales said she attended a protest in downtown Decatur on Saturday night and saw police get rough with demonstrators.

“We want justice,” Sales said. “We’re not going to let up. We’re not going to tear down. We’re not going to burn up. Nothing. We want justice. That’s all we ask for. But we’re not going to keep letting the police harass us.”

Lee Merritt, attorney for Perkins’ family, told AL.com in a Zoom interview this week that the family appreciates those arrested.

“We thank those community members who have volunteered their bodies,” he said. “We’ve set up a community relief fund to work on bail. I asked anybody who makes the strategic decision to be arrested that they do so as a part of an organized movement. We don’t, I don’t believe in chaos or sporadic acts of violence or crime.”

“If there are people on the ground or who are discontent about the criminal justice system in Decatur, Alabama, and who are willing to put their bodies on the line, those people ought to be lauded in support of our community,” he added.

During a vigil last week, Merritt, who has offices in Philadelphia, Penn. and Dallas, Texas, called on the crowd to act.

“If you’re quiet in your city, that means you consent,” he said to the hundreds of people gathered. “If you don’t get into these streets, that means you consent; if you don’t burn something down, that must mean that you consent. Over the course of the next 24 hours, 48 hours, over the course of the next week, over the course of the next month, the people of Decatur are going to demonstrate that we do not consent to the murder of Stephen Perkins. We do not consent to the murder of Steven Perkins, so we are going to be on these streets until we get justice. So we’re going to fight until every officer is arrested.”

Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said in response that the attorney made those comments because “this isn’t his home. He’ll go to the next place where there’s money and opportunity for him.”

“Bringing more violence to the area isn’t going to improve things,” the mayor added. “We’re going to get justice. We just need to give it a little time.”

Merritt said that on Friday he requested the police bodycam footage of the killing from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which has taken over investigating the case. A law passed in 2023 provided that a “personal representative of a deceased individual” may apply to see the footage but “shall not record or copy the recording.”