Birmingham mayor, city councilman brawl
By Jeremy Gray | jgray@al.com
Birmingham, AL
Birmingham found itself thrust into the national spotlight on Tuesday in a most unwanted way as a fight at City Hall sent Mayor William Bell and Council Member Marcus Lundy to hospitals.
After the scuffle stopped, we were left with accusations and lots of questions.
Is anyone going to jail?
An arrest warrant was issued for Lundy. "Councilman Lundy, like any other citizen, will be given the courtesy to turn himself in at the city jail so the court proceedings can begin," police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards said. Lundy has not yet spoken out about the incident, but he will issue an official statement Wednesday, according to a city council news release. The city council president said Tuesday morning Lundy would be pressing charges.
Who started the fight?
AL.com's John Archibald spent much of Tuesday weaving between City Hall offices trying to find out who started the brawl and who won. His conclusion? It doesn't matter who started it or who won because, in the end, it's clear the entire city lost. "Because the whole of the world is watching Birmingham come apart at the seams. Because the whole world is again looking at Alabama expecting to see a bunch of boorish rubes going at it old school in some backroom, and the whole world sees exactly what it expects."
What are the police saying?
Beyond Chief A.C. Roperacknowledging the incident is "extremely concerning" for Birmingham, police have said little about their still ongoing investigation. A report filed by Bell states he and Lundy were discussing a city matter when the conversation grew heated. Bell told the officer Lundy "grabbed him from behind and put him in a chokehold."
What led to this?
Council President Johnathan Austin said Bell interfered with Lundy's personal job with Regions Bank, threatening to Lundy's bosses to take all the city's money out of that bank "if they didn't do something about Lundy." Also, a confrontation between the city's law department and Lundy over his use of a city car - which is illegal under state law - took place Monday evening, according to city spokeswoman April Odom. Another city spokeswoman, Brittany Sharp, said Tuesday evening that the discussion of the use of the city vehicle was not connected to the physical altercation between Lundy and Bell. What led to the fight, however, still isn't perfectly clear.
Listen to the audio of the fight between Mayor William Bell and Councilman LundyListen to the altercation between Birmingham Mayor William Bell and councilman Marcus Lundy during the city council meeting on Tuesday.
Did anyone see what happened?
The police report states two of Lundy's assistants were outside the small room during the fight and the door was closed. The two men entered after hearing the commotion and pulled Lundy off Bell. The assistants refused to talk to police without having first talked to a lawyer, that report stated. Council members were having their weekly meeting in the nearby council chambers and a recording captured the sound of someone yelling "Whoa! Whoa!"
The council quickly went into recess.
Just how odd is this for Birmingham City Hall?
AL.com's Kyle Whitmire looks back at five of some of the many truly surreal moments that have unfolded in the Magic City's halls of power.