Public Safety

Bang, Bang. You’re Closed: Birmingham threatens to close clubs with violent episodes.

The city of Birmingham is going to make a greater effort to close clubs and venues where gun violence takes place, Mayor Randall Woodfin said Tuesday. “I want to give public notice to any club owner,” Woodfin said in a press conference after Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “You are responsible for protecting your patrons, and if you do not do so, we will move to shut you down.” The announcement follows an early morning drive-by shooting at Club Euphoria in west Birmingham that left 21-year-old Lykeria Taylor dead and another male injured. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

To Curb Gun Violence in Gulf States, Activists Are Taking a Closer Look at Policing Alternatives

Over Memorial Day weekend, at least 26 shootings were reported in major cities across Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. At least 10 people were killed and 17 others were injured. It was the latest example of rising homicides and gun violence across the Gulf states this year. Read more.

by Becca Schimmel, Gulf States Newsroom

$125,000 Fund Set Up for Rewards in Shootings of Children

On May 18, Katrina Grady, a nursing assistant for more than 20 years, stopped on the side of Warrior Road to provide aid to what she believed was an injured person in a car. The car was empty, and Grady’s family came under fire. Her 8-year-old daughter, Katilynn, was hit by a rifle bullet and injured in the shoulder and head. Grady was told by doctors that it was a miracle she was alive. “The doctors told me that if she had moved her head any other kind of way, it would have been another situation right now,” Grady said. Tuesday, Grady stood before a crowd at a press conference arranged by Mayor Randall Woodfin and made an emotional plea for change as her daughter stood off to the side. Woodfin announced formation of a $125,000 Gun Violence Against Children Fund, a collaboration with more than 20 churches and organizations to combat gun violence against children in the city. Crime Stoppers will administer the fund to pay $25,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of individuals responsible in each of five cases involving children under the age of 10. Arrests already have been made in a sixth case involving another child. “Never in a million years would I have expected something like that to happen,” Grady told the crowd. “For six kids to get shot, we’ve got to do better. Somebody knows who (did) this to my child and I want justice. It hurt me more than anything.” Read more.

by Michelle Love

A Lack of Hate or Lack of Reporting?: Alabama Has Reported Zero Hate Crimes in the Past Two Years

On April 9, 2020, the Etz Chayim Synagogue in Huntsville was defaced with antisemitic graffiti. The following day, the Chabad of Huntsville was vandalized with similar hate speech. Security footage taken from both scenes indicates the same perpetrator committed both crimes. Given that they took place on the first night of the Jewish holiday Passover, the crimes are thought to be meticulously planned and executed with one purpose: to send a message of hate to the Jewish community. Mayor Tommy Battle released a statement to the public saying “the city of Huntsville condemns antisemitism in the strongest possible terms” and emphasized Huntsville as a city of inclusivity and acceptance. “Any offense against one is an offense against all,” Battle said. The case has since been handed over to the FBI, and no perpetrator has been caught. Despite these attacks against the Jewish community the state of Alabama has reported zero hate crimes to the FBI’s annual Unified Crime Report for the past two years in a row. It is the only state in the country that has reported zero hate crimes.  “It is highly implausible that in 2019 or 2018, no hate crimes were committed in Alabama. Of the over 417 law enforcement agencies in the state, only two actually participated in the 2019 reporting process to the FBI, which is deeply troubling and undoubtedly means that many hate crimes have gone unreported,” said Dr. Allison Padilla-Goodman, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Southern Division. Read more.

by Michelle Love

Local, Federal Officials Launch Partnership to Reduce Gun Violence in Birmingham

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin launched a collaborative effort with federal and local law enforcement agencies to put an end to the city’s growing gun violence problem. The partnership, announced Friday, imposes stiff penalties for people who have unauthorized guns. Officials called on the community to help make the city safer by providing information on people who may be involved in criminal activity. Read more.

by Cody Short, WBHM

Erasing the Stain: 15,000 Pardoned of Marijuana Possession Convictions

Mayor Randall Woodfin on Tuesday announced the pardons of more than 15,000 Birmingham residents convicted of marijuana possession, declaring that “one small mistake should not define an entire lifetime.” The pardons — which were announced April 20, an unofficial holiday celebrating cannabis — covers residents with closed marijuana possession cases in the Birmingham Municipal Court between 1990 and 2020. The pardons are part of Woodfin’s Pardons for Progress program, launched in November 2019, which was meant to remove employment barriers for people who had been convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Alabama House Passes Controversial Bills During Contentious Day of Debate

MONTGOMERY — A day full of contentious bills in the House of Representatives Thursday was paired with multiple motions to cut off debate, which many Democratic members said were “unjust.” Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said at one point during the debate that the cloture motions were taking away her right to debate on legislation. “You’ve taken all my voice away when you give up that cloture,” Moore said. House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter said the motions were necessary to keep Democrats from dragging out debate in an effort to delay or kill legislation. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Law Enforcement Agencies Ask for Increased State Funding; General Fund Budget Looks OK

MONTGOMERY — The outlook for the state's current General Fund budget is good, according to state lawmakers meeting this week for budget hearings. Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, who chairs the General Fund budget committee in the House of Representatives, said he did not expect any large COVID-19-caused cuts in the current budget as lawmakers begin to craft next year's budget in the upcoming legislative session. Lawmakers on Wednesday heard from law enforcement agency heads who were asking for budget increases to pay for more personnel and mitigating issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

by Caroline Beck and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Birmingham Police Stations Offer Safe Place For Online Buyers and Sellers to Meet

WBHM The comments from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin come after a UAB student was shot and killed during a transaction arranged online. Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

Birmingham Police Need the Public’s Help in Solving Homicides, Woodfin Says

Mayor Randall Woodfin pleaded with Birmingham residents on Wednesday to help police in homicide investigations, saying police have “hit a wall that’s hard to crack” in many cases: uncooperative witnesses. There have been 120 homicides in Birmingham this year, 15 of which have been ruled justifiable. Sixty-two of the remaining 105 homicides remain unsolved. That low clearance rate, Woodfin said, “is not because our detectives are not doing their job.” “Trust me, they are,” he said during a news conference with Police Chief Patrick Smith. “But we don’t have more solved cases in part because there are some people who know who are behind these killings, but they won’t say anything.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett