Huntsville Police Explain Complaint Investigation Process

Residents raise questions about transparency and accountability at open forum

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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Huntsville residents gathered to discuss how the Huntsville Police Department handles complaints, as questions about transparency and accountability continue to surface. Investigators outlined the process for internal and external complaints, with nearly 200 complaints received last year. The meeting comes after a viral video showed an officer using apparent excessive force during an arrest.

Why it matters

This open forum provides an opportunity for the Huntsville community to better understand how the police department investigates complaints and addresses issues of transparency and accountability, which have been ongoing concerns in many cities.

The details

The Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council hosted the forum, where HPD Captain Tim Clardy explained that the department encourages residents to come forward with concerns so they can investigate and address any issues with officers. Of the nearly 200 complaints received last year, 139 came from citizens and 56 were filed internally.

  • The forum was held on Tuesday, February 11, 2026.
  • The video showing apparent excessive force by an HPD officer went viral recently.

The players

Huntsville Police Department

The local law enforcement agency in Huntsville, Alabama that is responsible for investigating complaints against its officers.

Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council

A community group that hosted the forum to facilitate discussions between residents and the police department about complaint investigations and transparency.

Tim Clardy

A captain with the Huntsville Police Department who outlined the department's complaint investigation process during the forum.

Bekah Schmidt

The chair of the Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council who emphasized the importance of discussions like the forum for the public to understand the proper process for filing complaints.

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What they’re saying

“If we have officers do something wrong, we want people to come to come to us so we have a chance to correct that problem before it gets any worse than what it may be and give us a chance to look into the issue and look into the officer and see what they're going. We're wanting to put out the best product to the citizens of Huntsville that we possibly can, and forums like this is what helps us bridge that gap with the community.”

— Tim Clardy, Captain, Huntsville Police Department (rocketcitynow.com)

“This is a topic that's very timely, and it's also something that the public should know about. If you ever are in a situation where you need to follow up with HPD, this is the proper way to do that and we often hear things, other departments across the country, might see something on the news and this is what happens, the process that happens when they're investigating internally.”

— Bekah Schmidt, Chair, Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council (rocketcitynow.com)

What’s next

The Huntsville Police Department will continue its internal investigation into the recent incident involving alleged excessive force by an officer, the results of which will be made public.

The takeaway

This open forum demonstrates the Huntsville Police Department's efforts to improve transparency and accountability by directly engaging with the community, which is an important step in building trust between law enforcement and residents.