As a former St. Clair County sheriff's deputy and current municipal judge, State Sen. Lance Bell (R-Pell City) understands the difficult decisions police have to make, often in split-second, life-or-death situations.
Bell was instrumental in passing a "Back the Blue" crime package last session that provides added protections for officers from being prosecuted for their actions during the line of duty.
On a recent episode of "1819 News: The Podcast," Bell shared his perspective as an officer and why it's vital police have the freedom and support they need to do their jobs.
"I can tell you from being my time in the sheriff's department and doing my job. I've been involved in a few things over the years. I've been a part of being on a grand jury based on a shooting that occurred when I was on the scene," he said. "I've been investigated by the FBI on a civil rights violation. And the guy on that that made the complaint was high on PCP, and we had to fight him in the middle of a road, and really, used handcuffs, used rope and everything to get him calmed down. I walked out of there with a busted lip, clothes ripped off, and it was pretty brutal. I mean, I think I took more of a whippin than he did, and the bad thing was for a couple years, you know, the FBI was asking questions. Well, you're scared to death. I did my job, why am I going through this?"
Bell said he was lucky the suspect pleaded guilty and resolved the case against him. But other officers aren't always as fortunate.
"I've been on shooting scenes, and to give some relief to the guys out there, because as I said in the Senate, these guys make a split-second decision that's life or death, and then the courts critique them for the next, sometimes two and three years of that split-second decision," he said. "Put yourself in the shoes of law enforcement of what they do. I've been there, [State Rep.] Rex Reynolds has been there, and we really appreciate the governor taking the step forward to protect the people that protect us."
Bell added, "The immunity hearing is a big deal. As long as you're acting in the scope of your duty, you should be immune from any prosecution, whether civil, criminal or anything of that nature. As long as you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, that's the big deal. You're protected."
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