The Alabama Department of Public Safety is the uniform section of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, serving the U.S. state of Alabama. It is made up of three divisions: Highway Patrol Division, Marine Patrol Division, and Drivers' License Division.[1]
History
The Alabama Department of Public Safety began as the Alabama Highway Patrol on December 5, 1935. The Highway Patrol was renamed the Department of Public Safety on March 8, 1939, and then included 4 divisions: Highway Patrol, Driver License, Accident Prevention Bureau, and Mechanical and Equipment.[2]
On January 17, 2011, Hugh B. McCall was appointed to the position of Colonel of the Alabama Department of Public Safety by Governor Robert J. Bentley, making him the first African-American to head the agency. In 2013 the state's law enforcement agencies were streamlined into the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.[3]
Organization
The Department of Public Safety is headed by a director appointed by the Governor of Alabama who is the executive officer of the department and holds the rank of colonel. The director is aided in managing the department by an assistant director, who is also appointed by the governor and who holds the rank of lieutenant colonel. Each of the department's three divisions are headed by uniformed officers with the rank of major.
The Alabama Highway Patrol is a division of the Alabama Department of Public Safety and is the highway patrol agency for Alabama, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Alabama.
In 1971, the Alabama Highway Patrol became the first U.S. police organization to use downsized vehicles for regular highway patrol duties when they purchased 132 AMC Javelins. This pre-dated, among others, the Camaros and Mustangs used by other departments years later.
Marine Patrol
The Alabama Marine Patrol Division is responsible for law enforcement on the waterways of Alabama. The mission of the Division is to "enhance safety and promote responsible use of resources on Alabama's waterways through enforcement, education, and community activities".[4] The Division patrols the waterways of the state, oversees pleasure boats registration and boat operators licensing, and provides education to boaters, and also maintains 1,518 waterway markings (buoys).[5]
There have been 29 Alabama State Troopers killed in the line of duty since its beginning in 1935.[6]
Rank
Name
Date of Death
Cause of Death
Age
Location
Patrolman
Maury Young
09-05-1936
Killed in a crash after his motorcycle struck a trailer
29
In Calhoun County, Alabama
Patrolman
William D. Raiford, Sr.
10-16-1937
Killed in a crash while on his motorcycle after a vehicle struck him
29
In Jefferson County, Alabama
Chief Radio Engineer
L. Bert Ussery
09-21-1943
Killed in a crash while in his State vehicle while traveling to fix a dispatch radio
N/A
On U.S. Route 231 in Troy, Alabama
Patrolman
Arvil O. Hudson
05-20-1952
Killed in a crash after striking a pothole and losing control on a rain-slicked road during a pursuit
39
In Walker County, Alabama
Patrolman
Henry Preston Bryant
12-07-1952
Killed in a crash after a vehicle failed to yield in an intersection while in a pursuit with a drunk driver
30
On Lee Highway west of Larkinsville, Alabama
Patrolman
Julian F. Draughon
10-03-1953
Killed in a crash while on his motorcycle after a vehicle failed to yield to his lights and siren as he escorted a vehicle to the hospital
29
In Houston County, Alabama
Patrolman
Howard Milford Brock
11-08-1957
Killed in a crash with a vehicle that failed to yield to his lights and siren during a pursuit
46
In Lee County, Alabama
Patrolman
Joe F. Partin
07-25-1960
Killed in a crash while on his motorcycle after a truck turned out in front of him
32
In Baldwin County, Alabama
Patrolman
Anthony A. Scozarro
12-13-1961
Killed in a crash in which he was the passenger after a vehicle struck the side of the patrol car after running a stop sign
22
In Montgomery, Alabama
Captain
Thomas Estes Maxwell
10-04-1962
Killed in a crash after being struck by a vehicle while in his patrol car while responding to help a Mississippi Highway Patrol Officer
43
Intersection of Danville Road and Chapel Road in Danville, Alabama
Sergeant
Raymond M. Carlton
02-27-1965
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a tire blew causing him to hit a bridge abutment
52
On the side of U.S. Route 331 in Covington County, Alabama
Trooper
Randolph G. Glover
07-19-1967
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after losing control during a pursuit
28
In Monroe County, Alabama
Trooper
Brooks D. Lawson
07-31-1969
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after being hit by a train at an unmarked crossing during a pursuit
29
N/A
Corporal
Thomas Odean Gillilan
07-01-1970
Succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on 06-28-1970 after being shot while on a traffic stop
38
On the side of U.S. 331 in Crenshaw County, Alabama
Corporal
Harlan B. Blake
10-10-1970
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car during a pursuit
38
N/A
Auxiliary Trooper
Ormand Franklin Watkins
04-11-1971
Shot and killed while on a traffic stop with a drunk man who shot him during a fight; his partner, Trooper Ronald Ogletree was also shot but survived
30
On the side of Pineview Circle in Rainbow City, Alabama
Corporal
Riley Delano Smith
12-17-1971
Electrocuted to death while checking on a dead body in a swamp; a billboard wire shorted out and electrocuted him as soon as he touched the post
34
Off the side of the Mobile Causeway (U.S. Route 98) in the Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama
Trooper
James Buford Robinson
12-10-1972
Shot and killed while helping Talladega Police Officers search for a man that wounded a Talladega Officer; Trooper Robinson chased the suspect to a residence when the man turned and killed Trooper Robinson
41
On Chandler Street in Talladega, Alabama
Trooper
Bobby S. Gann
02-21-1974
Shot and killed after chasing an escaped mental patient into a dark, abandoned home; the suspect had previously stolen a vehicle
39
Just off of U.S. Route 31 approx. eight miles north of Prattville, Alabama
Trooper
Kenyon M. Lassiter
04-19-1974
Struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while writing a warning to a driver he just stopped
51
On the side of U.S. Route 331 approx. eight miles north of Opp, Alabama
Sergeant
Julius Douglas Stuckey
06-27-1974
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a tire blew and he struck a bridge railing
36
On the side of I-65 in Evergreen, Alabama
Trooper
Johnnie Earl Booker
11-02-1978
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a logging truck pinned him against a bridge railing
28
On Alabama State Route 21, approx. 1.5 miles north of Talladega, Alabama
Trooper
David E. Temple
09-13-1979
Shot and killed while on a traffic stop with a car that was wanted in an earlier armed robbery
36
On the side of Alabama State Route 20/U.S. Route 72 (Alternate)/I-565 in Mooresville, Alabama
Trooper
Simmie L. Jeffries
12-21-1984
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a tractor trailer turned in front of him
22
On the interchange of U.S. Route 72 and I-65 near Athens, Alabama
Trooper
Larry D. Cawyer
05-25-1985
Struck and killed by two vehicles that wrecked and slid into him as he wrote a traffic ticket
42
On the side of the I-10 Bayway in Mobile, Alabama
Trooper
Elizabeth S. Cobb
10-11-1987
Shot and killed by her boyfriend who was also an Alabama State Trooper in an attempt to collect her $350,000 life insurance policy
36
Behind New Bethel Church on County Road 6 in Dallas County, Alabama
Trooper
Robert William Jones
10-03-1991
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a tractor trailer pulled out in front of him as he responded to a reckless driver call
41
On U.S. Route 231 in Pike County, Alabama
Trooper
Willis Von Moore
02-26-1996
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car while responding to a crash; multiple cars failed to yield to Trooper Moore's lights and siren causing Trooper Moore to strike a guardrail
34
On the side of U.S. Route 431 just north of Bob Wade Lane in Huntsville, Alabama
Trooper
Brian Keith Nichols
02-17-2002
Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after striking a horse as he topped a hill; the horse fell into his windshield and crushed the top frame of the car
35
On Alabama State Route 56 near Chatom, Alabama
Since 1935, the Alabama State Troopers have had one Trooper killed in the military.
Rank
Name
Date Employed
Date of Death
Cause of Death
Age
Trooper
Stephen Ray Robinette
N/A
04-06-1991
Killed by an IED during Operation Desert Storm; he was a Sergeant of the U.S. Army's VII Corps
36
In southern Iraq
References
^"Department of Public Safety". Website of the Alabama Law Enforcement Division. State of Alabama. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
