The Mobile City Council is limiting the scope of the investigation into the former police chief’s allegations

MOBILE – The Mobile City Council met Tuesday to discuss how to move forward with the investigation into allegations made by former Police Chief Paul Prine.

Prine said he filed two separate complaints against members of city government after “causing the appearance of irregularities” regarding financial activities.

First the council discussed the scope of the investigation and then they discussed who would conduct the investigation.

Scope was defined by whether each claim was illegal, unethical, or violative of policy. The Alabama Ethics Commission will set the ethics standard.

Councilman Joel Daves said his concern was to limit the scope of the investigation so the special counsel would know what to look for.

“If we are not very careful in determining the scope of this investigation, we will be in this forever,” Daves said.

The categories under investigation are ShotSpotter and how the contract came about, how Gulf Coast Technology Center works with MPD, whether complaints were investigated and how Prine’s leave was handled.

Council members Ben Reynolds and Josh Woods offered options for the special counsel and emailed some options to other council members. They said their biggest concern was finding either a law firm or an investigative firm that had no interest in the city of Mobile. You also want a company that has experience with such investigations and can complete the investigations in a timely manner.

The council has not yet made a decision on which company to hire.

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