Concerns over police transparency and de-escalation training surfaced in Mobile Tuesday during a City Council meeting that occurred five days after a violent police altercation with a Black man was caught on cell phone video that went viral.

The concerns also come after months of requests from the family of Jawan Dallas to have the body cam footage of his deadly July 2 encounter with police released to family members. Authorities have declined to do so, citing Alabama law that prohibits the release of evidence that is going before a grand jury.

“It looks like the only transparency that we can get is from the people themselves when they take (cell phone) videos of an incident involving the police,” said the Rev. Tony Algood, pastor of the United Methodist Inner City Mission.

City officials defended their role in handling civil rights cases by saying that they often get the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice involved with investigations.

“I think we’ve been more than fair enough in our transparency,” said James Barber, chief of staff to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. “When there are allegations of civil rights abuse or use of excessive force, we’ve included the Department of Justice, and the FBI to run parallel investigations with us. We always notify the (Mobile County) District Attorney’s office and go through the process of the grand jury where citizens, at that point, will see evidence of the case.”

But the lack of body camera footage is becoming a growing concern in Mobile and elsewhere in Alabama, as the number of violent encounters with police have increased in recent months.

More recently, in Decatur, activists are demanding body camera footage be released of the September 29, death of Steve Perkins by police. City officials have said they are not authorized to release police body cam videos from the shooting, saying that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is the custodial entity of all evidence related to the investigation.

In Mobile, the concerns are also focusing on police training and activists are pushing for police to prioritize de-escalating violent encounters. Barber invited council members to visit the Police Department and review the agency’s policies and procedures and “to what extend we go to de-escalate situations.”

Mobile City Councilman William Carroll also suggested the city’s police-citizens advisory committee be reformed and meet regularly.

The concerns in Mobile focus on some notable recent incidences:

Kordell Jones, 25, of Mobile, was shot by authorities on March 7 as he ran out of a house naked and carrying an AR-style gun while police were raiding a home in search of his brother. Mobile police dismissed calls for releasing the body camera video footage, and blamed Jones’s brother – Jason Jones – for being involved in criminal activity that led to police to raid the home in the first place.

Dallas, 36, of Theodore, died on July 2 as he sat inside his vehicle while Mobile police investigated a burglary that occurred to a nearby trailer. Dallas, whose attorneys say was nowhere near the burglary site, died after he was stunned by a Taser multiple times. Mobile police claim that Dallas evade police commands while they were investigating the burglary, and Police Chief Paul Prine said the officers feared for their safety because Dallas’ behavior and “strange movement in the car” that included movements toward the backseat with his hands.

The Dallas case remains under investigation as his mother, Christine Dallas of Mobile, has repeatedly called for authorities to release the body camera video footage during the altercation.

Mobile City Attorney Ricardo Woods has said the footage cannot be released to anyone, including the family, until after the grand jury is finished with its investigation. He has said that doing so would be a felony and a violation of Alabama state law under the grand jury secrecy act.

Barber, on Tuesday, said he has requested the entire process be expedited. He said that since he has not been subpoenaed in the case, he was willing to describe more of the details during the traffic stop to Christine Dallas. She has declined the meeting, Barber said, “on the advice of her attorney.”

Barber said the recently received results of a toxicology report, also part of the grand jury’s investigation, cannot be released.

“We’ve asked everyone to step up,” Barber said about the ongoing investigation. “The family needs answers as far as a cause of death.”

Christopher Jones, 24, was shot and killed October 2 on Glenwood Street during an altercation with police while he was on the roof of a residence. Officers ordered Jones to come down from the roof, and he complied, only to produce a shotgun and point it at police. Jones was shot and killed.

Robert Clopton, president of the Mobile chapter of the NAACP, said Jones was asleep on top of the roof at the time of the incident.

“They demanded he come down (from the roof) and yet, he loses his life right there,” Clopton said. “I have to ask, are the officers trained and recertified in non-lethal force?”

Carroll said Jones was “mentally challenged” and well-known in the community. But he said he was unsure if Mobile police were aware of Jones’s mental health.

“It’s becoming more prevalent that our Police Department have additional training or can recognize things that may be more of a mental challenge than they are of an aggressive challenge,” Carroll said. “I think we need to step up our game there.”

Beezer Earl Dubose Jr., 36, is facing felony charges after police pulled him over Thursday for allegedly speeding. During the traffic stop, officers smelled marijuana which led to an arrest. And during the arrest – Officer Paul Callegari, who is white – is shown on top of Dubose, who is Black and is handcuffed and face down. Callegari punches Dubose in the head multiple times before moving around the to the side as his partner walks over.

The video is cell phone footage that Barber claims is “deceiving” and does not show the activities leading up to the arrest. Dubose is alleged to have grabbed Callegari’s testicles and continued to latch on. Callegari, on Tuesday, was reportedly seeing an urologist.

The police body camera footage has not been released, and the case is likely going before a grand jury as an investigation unfolds.

Barber said he is not sure what the body camera footage will reveal.

“I don’t know if our body cam footage will show the grip this guy has on this officer,” Barber said. “You don’t see what led up to what happened there.”