Birmingham Mayor William Bell and Lundy each suffered minor injuries in a fight that broke out during a council meeting Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, and both men could face charges.
Advertisement
Bell’s office also released the police report filed after the mayor and Lundy got into the fight.
“We are concerned about the overall good of the city and keeping up the positive momentum that we have seen over the past several years”, Bell said in a statement. An audio recording from a committee meeting on Monday captured a terse exchange between city councilmembers and the mayor’s chief of staff about the procedure that was used to retrieve the vehicle. The councilman claims Bell was using the incident as an excuse to fire him. “Councilor Lundy sincerely appreciates the many prayers and thoughtful calls he and his family have received during this very hard time”.
According to a police report obtained by the AP, the two officials became heated while discussing a personal issue in a room behind city council chambers.
Bell told police that Lundy got angry with him during a closed-door meeting outside council chambers and put him in a choke hold as he tried leaving the room. Austin said Lundy told him that he planned to file charges against Bell. “When approached by Birmingham Police, Councilor Lundy refused to give a statement”.
The report said Bell had bruising on his neck and a swollen left knee.
Bell and Lundy were both taken to a local hospital. From there, the magistrate will swear out a warrant for the arrest of Councilor Lundy.
The warrant was removed from active status at the mayor’s request Wednesday. The argument had apparently escalated to fisticuffs, and was broken up by two of Lundy’s assistants.
Odom said Lundy recently had to return the city vehicle he was driving because the law prohibits council members from having municipal vehicles.
City Hall in Birmingham, Ala.
Bell, a former council member, has been mayor since 2010.
AL.com reporter Jeremy Gray photographed Lundy’s injuries. “It’s extremely concerning, not just for me, but for our entire city so we’ll conduct a thorough investigation and try to get to the bottom of exactly what happened and what precipitated this incident”.
Austin added that the animosity between the mayor and the city council “absolutely…does not justify anyone resorting to violence”.
It’s still unclear what the mayor and Lundy were fighting about. Birmingham Mayor Bell’s office confirmed the Lundy had not turned himself in.
Advertisement
We regret this error in our initial report.
