Alabama man killed by police in ‘ambush’ during truck repossession, family says

An Alabama man was killed by police in an “ambush,” his family said Monday, that unfolded when a repo man tried to take his truck with the help of officers.

Neighbors’ security footage captured some of the sights and sounds of officers confronting Steve Perkins, 39, on Sept. 29 at his home in Decatur, about 30 miles southwest of Huntsville.

A man could he heard saying, “Hey, give me my truck back!” according to footage made public by Perkins’ family.

Then another male voice could be heard screaming, “Hey, hey, police! Get on the ground!”

There was only a fraction of a second between the word “ground” and the sound of gunfire, with more than a dozen rounds apparently being squeezed off in about four seconds.

“From the immediate footage that we’re seeing, it looked like an ambush of him not even knowing who was in his yard,” family spokesperson Brenton Lipscomb old NBC News on Monday.

“They were in uniform, but it’s a very dark neighborhood. No police cars were in front of the house, they were parked down the street, hiding in neighborhoods’ yards, hiding around the house.”

Representatives of the Decatur Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday to confirm the legitimacy of the footage.

But in previous statements, state law enforcement said Perkins “was found to be armed with a handgun which was also equipped with a light” and that he had “brandished the weapon towards an officer with the Decatur Police Department, causing the officer to fire at Perkins.”

ALEA vowed to carry out “a very thorough and methodical investigation,” the agency said of its ongoing probe.

Perkins had fallen behind on payments for the truck, but it had not been been put into repossession status, the family said.

Earlier that night, a repo man had tried taking Perkins’ truck but was turned back. He made a second trip to the house, but this time with police, the family said.

A representative for the towing company that attempted the repossession could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.

Perkins, who worked for pet food manufacturer J.M. Smucker, was married and had two children, ages 14 and 7.

The man had no previous interactions with police, aside from a DUI arrest more than a decade ago, Lipscomb said.