Alabama Department of Public Safety


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.

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.
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.

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.
Post
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 down-sized 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.

Rank structure

The Alabama Department of Public Safety rank structure is as listed:
RankInsignia
Director
Assistant Director
Chief
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Corporal
Trooper

Fallen officers

There have been 29 Alabama State Troopers killed in the line of duty since its beginning in 1935.
RankNameDate of DeathCause of DeathAgeLocation
PatrolmanMaury Young09-05-1936Killed in a crash after his motorcycle struck a trailer29In Calhoun County, Alabama
PatrolmanWilliam D. Raiford, Sr.10-16-1937Killed in a crash while on his motorcycle after a vehicle struck him29In Jefferson County, Alabama
Chief Radio EngineerL. Bert Ussery09-21-1943Killed in a crash while in his State vehicle while traveling to fix a dispatch radioN/AOn U.S. Route 231 in Troy, Alabama
PatrolmanArvil O. Hudson05-20-1952Killed in a crash after striking a pothole and losing control on a rain-slicked road during a pursuit39In Walker County, Alabama
PatrolmanHenry Preston Bryant12-07-1952Killed in a crash after a vehicle failed to yield in an intersection while in a pursuit with a drunk driver30On Lee Highway west of Larkinsville, Alabama
PatrolmanJulian F. Draughon10-03-1953Killed 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 hospital29In Houston County, Alabama
PatrolmanHoward Milford Brock11-08-1957Killed in a crash with a vehicle that failed to yield to his lights and siren during a pursuit46In Lee County, Alabama
PatrolmanJoe F. Partin07-25-1960Killed in a crash while on his motorcycle after a truck turned out in front of him32In Baldwin County, Alabama
PatrolmanAnthony A. Scozarro12-13-1961Killed in a crash in which he was the passenger after a vehicle struck the side of the patrol car after running a stop sign22In Montgomery, Alabama
CaptainThomas Estes Maxwell10-04-1962Killed in a crash after being struck by a vehicle while in his patrol car while responding to help a Mississippi Highway Patrol Officer43Intersection of Danville Road and Chapel Road in Danville, Alabama
SergeantRaymond M. Carlton02-27-1965Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a tire blew causing him to hit a bridge abutment52On the side of U.S. Route 331 in Covington County, Alabama
TrooperRandolph G. Glover07-19-1967Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after losing control during a pursuit28In Monroe County, Alabama
TrooperBrooks D. Lawson07-31-1969Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after being hit by a train at an unmarked crossing during a pursuit29N/A
CorporalThomas Odean Gillilan07-01-1970Succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on 06-28-1970 after being shot while on a traffic stop38On the side of U.S. 331 in Crenshaw County, Alabama
CorporalHarlan B. Blake10-10-1970Killed in a crash while in his patrol car during a pursuit38N/A
Auxiliary TrooperOrmand Franklin Watkins04-11-1971Shot 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 survived30On the side of Pineview Circle in Rainbow City, Alabama
CorporalRiley Delano Smith12-17-1971Electrocuted 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 post34Off the side of the Mobile Causeway in the Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama
TrooperJames Buford Robinson12-10-1972Shot 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 Robinson41On Chandler Street in Talladega, Alabama
TrooperBobby S. Gann02-21-1974Shot and killed after chasing an escaped mental patient into a dark, abandoned home; the suspect had previously stolen a vehicle39Just off of U.S. Route 31 approx. eight miles north of Prattville, Alabama
TrooperKenyon M. Lassiter04-19-1974Struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while writing a warning to a driver he just stopped51On the side of U.S. Route 331 approx. eight miles north of Opp, Alabama
SergeantJulius Douglas Stuckey06-27-1974Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a tire blew and he struck a bridge railing36On the side of I-65 in Evergreen, Alabama
TrooperJohnnie Earl Booker11-02-1978Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a logging truck pinned him against a bridge railing28On Alabama State Route 21, approx. 1.5 miles north of Talladega, Alabama
TrooperDavid E. Temple09-13-1979Shot and killed while on a traffic stop with a car that was wanted in an earlier armed robbery36On the side of Alabama State Route 20/U.S. Route 72 /I-565 in Mooresville, Alabama
TrooperSimmie L. Jeffries12-21-1984Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a tractor trailer turned in front of him22On the interchange of U.S. Route 72 and I-65 near Athens, Alabama
TrooperLarry D. Cawyer05-25-1985Struck and killed by two vehicles that wrecked and slid into him as he wrote a traffic ticket42On the side of the I-10 Bayway in Mobile, Alabama
TrooperElizabeth S. Cobb10-11-1987Shot and killed by her boyfriend who was also an Alabama State Trooper in an attempt to collect her $350,000 life insurance policy36Behind New Bethel Church on County Road 6 in Dallas County, Alabama
TrooperRobert William Jones10-03-1991Killed 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 call41On U.S. Route 231 in Pike County, Alabama
TrooperWillis Von Moore02-26-1996Killed 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 guardrail34On the side of U.S. Route 431 just north of Bob Wade Lane in Huntsville, Alabama
TrooperBrian Keith Nichols02-17-2002Killed 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 car35On Alabama State Route 56 near Chatom, Alabama

Since 1935, the Alabama State Troopers have had one Trooper killed in the military.
RankNameDate EmployedDate of DeathCause of DeathAge-
TrooperStephen Ray RobinetteN/A04-06-1991Killed by an IED during Operation Desert Storm; he was a Sergeant of the U.S. Army's VII Corps36In southern Iraq