Thursday, two law enforcement officers from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles were fired upon as they approached a Bessemer home to conduct a supervisory visit with an offender.
Officer in Charge Sidney Yarbrough and Officer Steven Motley, both assigned to the Bureau’s Bessemer Field Office, were not injured in the attack. Other parole and probation officers in the area converged on the scene along with officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
Probationer Terry Easter was arrested on a probation violation in the aftermath of the incident. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the alleged attack and other charges are likely going to be brought against Easter.
“Officers of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles put their lives on the line every day working to help keep communities all across the state safe,” Bureau Director Charlie Graddick said. “Our officers are courageous and dedicated to public safety, and our state is a better place because of their work. We are so grateful that Officers Yarbrough and Motley were not hurt, and we are grateful for the assistance of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and our other parole and probation officers on the scene.”
According to the press release, Officers Yarbrough and Motley approached a building next to the Bessemer home Thursday morning on a regular home visit when they were fired upon from inside the building. The officers took cover and called for backup to help bring the situation under control.
Parole and probation officers make home visits to their clients as part of the process of supervising offenders’ transition back into the community after criminal convictions. The state of Alabama tasks their parole and probation officers with very heavy case loads.
The Alabama Department of Corrections is tasked with housing convicted felons and with rehabilitating them for a return to society. The Pardons and Paroles Board is tasked with determining which of the eligible convicted felons are sufficiently rehabilitated that they can be released back into Alabama society without posing a clear and present danger to the people of this state. In addition to supervising the parolees, there are thousands of felons who received probation instead of prison time that the Bureau’s officers also must monitor and supervise.
Graddick is the former presiding judge in Mobile County and is a former Alabama Attorney General. Graddick won the Democratic Party primary runoff for Governor in 1986; but the nomination was taken away on appeal. Then Lt. Governor Bill Baxley (D) went on to lose to Cullman Counthy Probate Judge Guy Hunt (R) in the general election.
Two law enforcement officers have already been killed in the line of duty in Alabama in 2020, both by gunfire.
