MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Some Alabama lawmakers are proposing the governor or attorney general should be able to appoint interim police chiefs in cities where crime has increased significantly or law enforcement staffing has decreased.
Some local leaders say municipal law enforcement should be left to city officials.
Sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, and pre-filed for the 2025 legislative session, Senate Bill 3 would allow the government to use state funds to compensate for lack of municipality resources and appoint a police chief. Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Matthews, will sponsor the bill in the House.
If passed, the bill would allow the attorney general or the governor to appoint an interim police chief if they determine a threat to public safety exists. The state officials must review local crime statistics, determine local law enforcement employment is less than 30 percent below the average in the last 10 years, consult with the local district attorney, sheriff and victims of local crimes.
“The interim police chief shall serve under the authority and at the pleasure of his or her appointing authority and shall not be subject to the authority of the mayor, city council, or other official of the municipality,” the bill says.
He or she would serve until the governor or attorney general “determines that a particular and ongoing threat to public safety no longer exists within the municipality…”
Both Barfoot and Ingram live near Montgomery. Ingram told Alabama Daily News that a combination of circumstances have led to many police officers and chiefs leaving their city jobs. He said reasons could include pay, working conditions and lack of resources.
“We’ve picked up about 60 out of Montgomery that left the city of Montgomery and came to (the Alabama Department of Corrections),” Reed said. “And the pay is not the thing, it’s working conditions and just standing behind your enforcement. When you don’t have a top cop there to build morale, then it’s hard to build morale.”
The city’s previous police chief resigned in April after being put on administrative leave following sexual harassment claims and morale issues within the department, WSFA reported.
Barfoot, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, told ADN that the bill is just the “tip of the spear” in improving conditions for police officers.
“We’ll certainly look into different options and we’ll collaborate with those in law enforcement around the state who have differing ideas, maybe better ideas,” he said.
One of his biggest concerns is with the Montgomery Police Department, which is significantly understaffed, he said.
“I think you can build confidence in the leadership of the police departments,” Barfoot said. “And then I think you start to regain some of those numbers of law enforcement officers who have left, maybe some of them come back, and certainly maybe there are some good folks to kind of fill the gaps.”
Ingram referenced the high crime in Montgomery in his discussion of the bill. Sunday night, there was a mass shooting in North Montgomery where 362 rounds were fired from multiple weapons, according to a release from Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed’s office. Nine people were shot and four people were injured in the subsequent chaos, according to the release.
Reed released a statement opposing the bill.
“I, along with other mayors as well as municipal organizations across Alabama, have issues with legislation like this,” Reed wrote. “At a time when we should all be working together, I would hope that Rep. Ingram and Sen. Barfoot would work with our entire local state legislative delegation to provide solutions as opposed to introducing local preemption bills that undermine municipal authority and interfere with a city’s right to govern itself.”
At a City Council meeting on June 4, Reed addressed citizens’ concerns regarding high crime and public safety. He said there are historic shortages in police departments state-wide, and some issues are beyond his and the council’s reach. He referenced a 2022 law that allows Alabamians to carry a concealed weapon without a permit.
“I didn’t see these crowds in the Alabama Legislature,” Reed said about the crowd at that meeting. “I didn’t see these crowds in the hallways of the House or the state Senate. We didn’t see the same outrage towards our members of the House of Representatives who were pushing these bills, the members of the Alabama State Senate, the lieutenant governor or the governor. Somehow we missed that, but, see, that wasn’t done in the City Council.”
Alabama League of Municipalities Executive Director Greg Cochran told ADN that local governments should be making decisions about local law enforcement.
“Public safety is one of the most critical services municipalities provide,” Cochran said on Monday. “Our organization has and will continue to collaborate with state leaders on a variety of issues, including public safety, and is always open to discussing ideas and resource opportunities that do not undermine local authority.”
Ingram said multiple times that this bill would not allow the state to take over city law enforcement, but that the state would provide more resources to a city.
“I think it would only be in the best interest of the citizens of every municipality in the state to know that there is a plan B, if their municipality falls behind on their resources,” he said.