MONTGOMERY, Ala. – State Sen. Kirk Hatcher, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and local religious leaders held a press conference on the State House steps on Monday afternoon in opposition to a bill that would allow a state takeover of the Montgomery Police Department if it doesn’t significantly increase its staffing ranks.
Senate Bill 289, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, gives law enforcement agencies serving Class 3 municipalities five years to employ at least two full-time officers for every 1,000 residents in the city. Huntsville and Montgomery are the only two Class 3 municipalities in Alabama.
Barfoot’s bill is expected to be on the Senate’s agenda today in what is expected to be a controversial day in the State House.
Under the bill, if the Montgomery or Huntsville police forces do not meet the staffing requirements laid out over five years, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency could take over the “operational oversight” of the department. That takeover would last until one year after the department met the personnel benchmark.
Hatcher, the Democratic senator who represents most of Montgomery, explained that he was “completely blindsided” when the bill was introduced in February and said he hasn’t met with Barfoot at all about it.
“Senate Bill 298, in my opinion, opens the door for state control of our local police force that we have duly elected individuals in our municipalities throughout this state who are charged with, among many other things, the responsibility for protecting its citizens,” Hatcher said.
As part of the takeover, ALEA could also appoint a chief administrative law enforcement officer to oversee the department’s personnel, administration, recruitment and retention and enforcement.
The religious leaders who spoke at the press conference criticized the legislation for enabling law enforcement officers unfamiliar with Montgomery to patrol its streets. Bishop Freddrick Hardy of Faith Church also said the bill sets up a “double standard” because statewide officers fall far short of the staffing levels required in the bill.
“I just want to say that the double standard that this bill projects, we cannot accept,” Hardy said. “Senate Bill 298 says that there must be two officers per 1,000 residents. That’s the standard that it’s stating for safety in Alabama. If that is true for Montgomery, then it must be true for every city, every county in the state of Alabama… The state wants to penalize Montgomery for a standard that the state itself cannot meet.”
Hatcher agreed that Alabama should address police staffing shortages across the board, calling it “a national crisis, not a local failure.”
The bill would also require agencies taken over by ALEA to pay full restitution for the cost of deploying supplemental officers. Hatcher called that “empty” and “problematic.”
Barfoot has repeatedly said the bill is about making the Capital City safer. He’s also said that getting police staffing numbers from the city is nearly impossible, but he estimates it is nearly 200 officers short. Alabama Daily News has requested staffing information from the city twice since February and not received a response.
Both Hatcher and Reed said they don’t know who asked for the bill.
Reed said the city did not ask the Legislature for help in increasing MPD’s staffing.
“Partnerships can work when done correctly. Takeovers do not, punishment does not and that’s what Senate Bill 298 sets out to do,” Reed said. “I’m not sure who’s behind it. I’m not sure what the motivation is, but what I am sure is that they cannot be focused on public safety by only highlighting Montgomery when the state itself does not reach its own requirements that’s in this bill, when surrounding communities do not reach the requirements that are included in this bill.”
When he introduced the bill, sponsor Barfoot told ADN that he directed the bill at Class 3 municipalities as an easier way to get to Montgomery.
Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, objected to the bill’s potential impact on his district in Huntsville on the House floor in February. Daniels warned that he will be “on this floor every single day fighting against everything” if the Senate passes the bill as currently written.
“I will be a one man wrecking crew in this chamber for the remainder of this session,” Daniels said.
Last week, Barfoot told Alabama Daily News that the bill will be amended on the Senate floor to decrease that ratio to 1.9 officers for every 1,000 residents. He said that will give Huntsville “a bit more breathing room.”
Hatcher took issue with this statement, saying it proves further that the bill is a “targeting of Montgomery.” He also warned that he will be a fierce opponent on the floor.
“(Our opposition) won’t stop here,” Hatcher said. “Sure as that bill gets to the floor tomorrow, if it does, there will be a fight to defeat this.”
The Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government approved the bill in late February after initially delaying a vote.
The Senate gavels in at 10:00 a.m.