{"id":9024,"date":"2025-05-15T07:01:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T07:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=9024"},"modified":"2025-05-15T07:01:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T07:01:34","slug":"alabama-lawmakers-approve-additional-legal-protections-for-police-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=9024","title":{"rendered":"Alabama lawmakers approve additional legal protections for police officers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — <\/span>Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday approved enhanced legal protections for police officers, changes that Republicans said show support for law enforcement but Democrats called \u201ca green light to kill Black folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Alabama Legislature gave final approval to the legislation<\/a> that sets legal standards for the use of force and provides for an immunity hearing. The bill states that an officer \u201cshall be justified\u201d in the use of physical force as long as it is not constitutionally excessive force or \u201crecklessly\u201d outside of the officer\u2019s discretionary authority. <\/p>\n

Republicans, who called the legislation the \u201cBack The Blue\u201d bill said it is needed to provide a clear legal framework and show support for law enforcement officers faced with making split-second decisions. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask them to take care of us, keep us safe in our homes as we sleep at night. This bill will give them the assurances that we back them and back the blue,\u201d Sen. Lance Bell, a former deputy sheriff, said. Bell said officers who act improperly can still be prosecuted. <\/p>\n

The approval came after an emotional debate in which Black lawmakers read the names of Black people who have been killed by police and described their own encounters with law enforcement. <\/p>\n

\u201cHB 202 is a license to kill Black people. That\u2019s what it is,\u201d Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Black Democrat from Birmingham, said.<\/p>\n

Smitherman said departments have very good officers, but they also have officers who are \u201cracist against Black people\u201d or will make impulsive decisions because they are scared. <\/p>\n

Sen. Merika Coleman, a Black Democrat from Pleasant Grove, said she fears the bill will protect \u201cbad apples\u201d in police departments. She described her worries that someone might see her honors student son as a threat someday because of his tall frame and twisted locs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this bill passes and there are young Black males, females, brown and other folks killed, you will have blood on your hands because of this piece of legislation,\u201d Coleman said. <\/p>\n

Bell urged opponents to \u201cwalk a mile in a law enforcement officer\u2019s shoes and find out what they have to deal with.\u201d Smitherman responded, \u201cWalk a mile in the person\u2019s shoes when the person is dead.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Alabama Senate approved the bill on a 25-6 late-night vote in the final hour of the legislative session. The House of Representatives accepted Senate changes. The bill now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey who said she will sign it into law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is NO question Alabama backs the blue!\u201d Ivey stated on social media after the bill\u2019s passage.<\/p>\n

Under existing state law, police and civilians alike are currently entitled to a \u201cstand your ground\u201d hearing in criminal cases where a judge can determine whether the defendant acted in self defense. The legislation will allow an immunity hearing where a judge will decide if a case can proceed based on whether the officer acted recklessly outside the scope of law enforcement duties. It would add similar protections in state civil lawsuits. It would also require law enforcement departments to collect data that tracks use of force complaints. <\/p>\n

The executive director of the Alabama Sheriff\u2019s Association, Hoss Mack, testified in favor of the bill in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is of equal benefit to law enforcement and the public. Let me reiterate what this bill does not do. It does not give blanket immunity to law enforcement,\u201d said Mack, who added that he had personally arrested officers that worked for him for misconduct throughout his 39-year career in law enforcement. <\/p>\n

Leroy Maxwell, a civil rights attorney based in Birmingham, said he is afraid the bill would embolden misconduct. <\/p>\n

\u201cLegislation like this paves the way toward a police state, where law enforcement operates above the law and without fear of consequence,\u201d Maxwell said.<\/p>\n

Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels<\/a> opposed the law but doubted the overall impact on civil rights cases which could still be filed in federal court and will not be affected by the legislation. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a lion with no teeth. It appears to be big and bad but it has no teeth and no claws,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday approved enhanced legal protections for police officers, changes that Republicans said show support for law enforcement but Democrats called \u201ca green light to kill Black folks.\u201d The Alabama Legislature gave final approval to the legislation that sets legal standards for the use of force and provides for an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9024"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9026,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9024\/revisions\/9026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}