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MOBILE, Ala. (BFMG) — A Mobile County grand jury has indicted Prichard Police Chief Walter Knight, according to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, deepening the crisis at a department already under investigation for corruption and mismanaged evidence. A sheriff’s office spokesman said Maj. Alfred Tucker also has been charged, though specific counts against both men were not immediately available.
The indictment follows the arrest of a former Prichard officer on federal corruption charges and an evidence audit that Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch has described as “appalling.” Burch said guns, other evidence and sexual assault kits were found strewn throughout the department and stored in rooms without proper climate control.
Since assuming law enforcement duties in Prichard, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office has launched a comprehensive evidence collection and inventory project at the department. As of the latest weekly update, deputies have logged 5,878 evidence items overall, including 1,494 firearms, and identified 575 items with no associated case number, raising questions about chain of custody and case integrity.
Within that broader review, investigators have completed a full inventory of sexual assault evidence kits. The sheriff’s office reported locating and logging 247 kits connected to Prichard cases, determining that 99 had previously been processed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.
On July 9, 2026, the remaining 148 kits were transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Mobile Field Office for forensic testing, a move Burch said is intended to expedite analysis and “ensure every victim’s case receives the attention it deserves.” Investigators plan to review the results as they are returned and determine appropriate investigative and prosecutorial steps based on the evidence and applicable law.
Burch has said the goal of the evidence project is to fully document, secure and reorganize every item pulled from the Prichard Police Department while preserving chain of custody and identifying discrepancies that could affect past and pending cases. The sheriff’s office has pledged a complete and transparent inventory and continued coordination with federal, state and local partners as the investigation into the department widens.
