MONTGOMERY — Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed announced on Tuesday the appointment of a new interim chief of police and a special public safety advisor as the city continues to face criticism over the tumultuous crime escalation in recent months.
Reed announced the appointments during a Tuesday morning press conference, which included members of the Montgomery Police Department (MPD), city council and other community members.
Deputy Chief John Hall has held the interim chief position at MPD since April after then-Chief Darryl Albert resigned after being placed on leave amid a sexual misconduct investigation.
In addition to the leadership shakeup, Montgomery has also been rocked in recent months by a rash of violent crime, leading to enhanced outrage from community members.
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Reed announced that former Alabama State University (ASU) Police Chief James (Jim) Graboys will serve as interim chief of police and former Mobile Police Chief Lawrence L. Battiste IV will serve as special public safety advisor to the mayor.
Graboys, currently a senior compliance specialist with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, served as chief of police at ASU from 2012 to 2019. Before his tenure at ASU, he was a 20-year veteran of the MPD. He will officially take office on July 15 while the city’s search firm continues to look for a permanent fixture.
Battiste has served as the chief of police in Mobile and Prichard. He also worked within the Mobile Sheriff’s office and served as the City of Mobile's public safety director from 2021 to 2023
As a sheriff’s deputy, Battiste worked as a narcotics investigator with the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force, led the Major Crimes Unit, and commanded the Sheriff's Office's SWAT team.
Reed initially thanked Hall for taking over the reins since Albert’s resignation, praising his performance as interim chief before Graboys took the podium to introduce himself.
“I see a lot of faces out there that I am very familiar with,” Graboys said. “I’ve missed y’all. Montgomery's a wonderful town. I love this town. I love the police department. The men and the women there, ever since I first started, have done everything they could to sacrifice and work for the welfare of the people of this city. They are a part of this city. They are a part of this community. And so, I am very humbled and honored to be here to accept this. I vow I am going to do everything within my power and everything within my ability to leave no stone unturned to marshal every resource available to go after these offenders, to go after people who want to make you unsafe, and to create community partnerships to have us work together.”
He continued. “Any of these problems, whether crime is up or whether it’s down, one crime is too many. And any of these problems, they affect all of our neighborhoods. This is not a partisan issue. It’s not an ‘us or them’ issue. It’s an all of us issue.”
Reed introduced Battiste, saying his name came up while the department continued to look for a new police chief. As a special advisor to the mayor, Battiste will work directly with the mayor to “develop new strategies and tactics to decrease gun violence and other crimes.” He will also make recommendations on how MPD can “better engage with the community and implement preemptive measures to prevent violent behavior.”
“When you’re trying to find different ways to address an issue, why just have one voice?” Reed said. “Why just have one person? Why not try [to] have the best and brightest in the room? One with an internal view, one who has served in Montgomery, one who knows his community. But also one with an external view. One who can advise the mayor and one who can advise the mayor. One who can give some outside feedback and thoughts about strategy, around recruiting, around operations, around implementation, community policing and partnerships; those that maybe we have not utilized, those that maybe we have not perfected.”
Battiste spoke briefly, thanking the mayor for the opportunity to help the city with its numerous difficulties surrounding policing.
“I don’t bring with me a silver bullet,” Battiste said. “What I do bring with me is the wisdom and the understanding of knowing that the men and women that are part of your team are your greatest assets, and you have to make sure that they are engaged and part of the process. And as well as getting them engaged, is engaging the community: working to develop and improve our trust within the community and our trust within our department.”
Both Graboys and Battiste emphasized a desire to better engage with community communications and foster a more trusting relationship between the MPD and citizens.
“I’m going to be transparent,” Graboys said. “If you want to know my motivation for being here, I’ll flat out tell you it’s not for myself. I’m only here for one reason: I’m here for the city, I’m here for the police department, for all the people in this city and I’m here for the police officers in that police department.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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