| Agencyname: | Alabama Department of Public Safety |
| Commonname: | Alabama State Troopers |
| Patchcaption: | Patch of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. |
| Logocaption: | Alabama Department of Public Safety Seal |
| Badgecaption: | Badge of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. |
| Motto: | Courtesy, Service, Protection |
| Formedyear: | 1935 |
| Formedmonthday: | December 5 |
| Preceding1: | Alabama Highway Patrol (1935-1939) |
| Employees: | 700–1,000 (civilian)~ 220 (law enforcement) |
| Country: | United States |
| Countryabbr: | USA |
| Divtype: | State |
| Divname: | Alabama |
| Legaljuris: | State of Alabama |
| Police: | Yes |
| Headquarters: | Alabama Criminal Justice Center Montgomery, Alabama |
| Chief1name: | Jon Archer |
| Chief1position: | Colonel |
| Chief2name: | Will Wright |
| Chief2position: | Major of Highway Patrol |
| Chief3name: | [vacant at the time] |
| Chief3position: | Major of Drivers' License Division |
| Chief4name: | Steve Thompson |
| Chief4position: | Major of Marine Patrol |
| Parentagency: |
|
| Child1agency: | Alabama Highway Patrol |
| Child2agency: | Alabama Marine Patrol |
| Child3agency: | Alabama Drivers License Division |
| Stationtype: | Posts and Field Offices |
| Stations: | 15 posts and 2 field offices |
| Vehicle1type: | Police Vehicles |
| Vehicles1: | Ford Explorer Ford Taurus Ford Expedition Ford Crown Victoria Ford F-250 Chevrolet Tahoe Chevrolet Suburban Chevrolet Impala Dodge Charger Dodge Durango Dodge Ram |
| Aircraft1type: | Helicopter |
| Aircraft1: | UH-1-H HueyBell 206B Jet RangerOH-58A+(w/ NightSun and FLIR) |
| Aircraft2type: | Plane |
| Aircraft2: | Beech King Air 200Cessna C-182 |
| Animal1type: | Dog |
| Animals1: | German ShepherdBelgian Malinois |
| Website: | Alabama DPS site |
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]
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]
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.
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See main article: Alabama Highway Patrol.
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.
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]
The Division operates from three districts: Northern, which includes the Tennessee, Coosa, and Black Warrior Rivers; Central, which includes the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Alabama, Tombigbee, and Chattahoochee Rivers; and Southern, which includes the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers, Mobile Bay, Gulf of Mexico, and other rivers and lakes.[5]
The Alabama Department of Public Safety rank structure is as listed:
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.