A dispute continues over a severance package offered to suspended Police Chief Paul Prine, who could be fired by the Mobile City Council by Tuesday.

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s administration, through a spokesperson Thursday, said Prine has until noon Friday to accept their latest offer. If he does not, the “City Council will have to vote to remove him from office.”

Prine, in a message to AL.com, said the city is not being truthful. He said there has been no official offer presented to him or his attorney.

“As of today, the administration has only demanded a one-way, non-disparaging clause that favors the city while essentially gagging me from speaking publicly,” Prine said. “They have asserted this is non-negotiable thus terms have not been discussed.”

Prine’s comments come after City Attorney Ricardo Woods, during the council’s pre-conference meeting Tuesday, said the administration was forwarding a revised separation offer to the chief. The council, during its preconference meeting, then called on the administration and Prine to reach a separation agreement so they did not have to step in and terminate him from his job.

“The administration has not once shown that they would at in good faith to resolve these matters yet continues to convince the public and city councilors that they are the only ones making an effort to clean up this mess,” he said.

Candace Cooksey, a spokesperson for Stimpson, said Prine’s assertions are untrue. She said another severance offer was forwarded to him through his attorney on Monday.

“That offer includes severance pay but requires him to refrain from additional disparagement of the city and the police leadership, as well as make himself available for legal matters related to lawsuits that police department incurred under his leadership,” Cooksey said.

Prine said he would allow for the public release of any offer the administration claims has been presented to him “including the so-called current one.” He added, “they will not be able to produce as they have not sent one.”

Prine, 53, a Prichard native, has been Mobile’s chief since 2021. Prine was seeking $600,000, an amount Stimpson said was unacceptable. The mayor said he was attempting to assemble a more competitive separation agreement that was more in line with Prine’s existing salary. Prine currently earns $146,208 as police chief.

Prine and the administration have been engaged in a very public dispute for close to three weeks. The concerns raised by Prine, since he was placed on paid administrative leave on April 9, include questions about contracting and improper administration of intelligence-led policing.

Prine has conducted numerous TV and radio interviews in recent weeks and has gathered a growing number of supporters on social media. A public rally was held about two weeks ago, with some of the pro-Prine crowd encouraging the chief to consider a run for mayor in 2025. Prine has not indicated whether he has future political ambitions.

The Stimpson administration placed Prine on leave over concerns raised about his leadership as chief highlighted in recently released report on the police department’s policies and procedures during use of force cases. The report outlined findings from six altercations between police officers and Black residents, four of which resulted in a death. The report was the culmination of work by an investigative team led by former U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown.

The report concludes that Prine’s recent behavior since being placed on paid administrative leave on April 9, was “emblematic of his autocratic tendencies” that can be connected to creating a police culture that included unconstitutional and demeaning behavior toward Mobile’s Black community.

“There are numerous constitutional violations including the beating of a handcuffed suspect, the going into or the attempt to go into cell phones repeatedly, the denigration of suspects of deadly force during press conferences, the illegal and unconstitutional detentions without probable cause,” Brown said on Tuesday after releasing the report. “That’s a litany (of allegations) I see an outside agency like the (Department of Justice) being interested in.”

Prine has since said the report was nothing more than “the administration’s attempt to turn the Black community on the police department.” He also called the report a document aimed to “oust the chief” and a “sideshow” to his allegations he raised about improprieties within the administration’s contracting and administration of cyber intelligence, which he claims he had no oversight as chief.