Alabama Bill Would Give Police Greater Immunity Against Lawsuits

Alabama legislators plan to rewrite the state law on civil and criminal immunity for police officers, an effort that Gov. Kay Ivey said is part of a larger initiative to “back the blue.”

A bill by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R- Huntsville, a former Huntsville police chief, will be up for discussion Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee.

Ivey and Republican leaders in the Legislature say bills to support law enforcement and fight crime are important goals for the legislative session that started last week.

“To back the blue, we will provide law enforcement with enhanced legal protections that allow them to carry out their duties courageously and effectively - without fear of Monday morning quarterbacking in the courts,” Ivey said during her State of the State address.

State law and court precedents already provide immunity for police officers unless they act “willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond his or her authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law.“

HB202, by Reynolds, would repeal the existing law and establish a new form of legal protection for police.

Reynolds said the new law would be more clear and specific.

Police acting within their discretionary authority would be immune from civil lawsuits unless they act “recklessly without law enforcement justification” or take actions that “violated a clearly established state or federal statutory or constitutional right of the plaintiff.”

Courts would automatically put cases on hold while they consider whether to dismiss them because immunity applies.

Reynolds’ bill also applies to criminal accusations against police, such as cases involving use of physical force.

HB202 says police are justified in using and immune from criminal prosecution for “the use of physical force against a person in the performance of conduct within his or her discretionary authority unless the use of force violates the person’s constitutional rights to be free from excessive force.”

Under the bill, a police officer accused of excessive use of force would be entitled to a pretrial hearing to determine whether immunity applied. The case would be automatically stayed, or put on hold, until the court decided on immunity.

“It simply pauses the situation. And the officer has a right to a hearing and to determine if in fact his actions taken fall within the scope of his duty, within policies in the manner in which they were trained,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said the pre-trial hearings would be similar to those used under Alabama’s “stand your ground” law, which provides immunity for citizens who use force against another person in self-defense under certain conditions.

“If a citizen claims that they’ve fired a weapon in their defense, then they have a right to a hearing to determine if in fact the situation, the circumstances, provide for that law,” Reynolds said. “Well, this does the same thing.

“You have a hearing of facts and circumstances. And for a judge to determine whether this immunity law applies to that situation.”

Reynolds said he worked with the governor’s office on the bill. He said he is still open to possible changes in the legislation but he said the goal is to make the law more clear.

“When they are covered by this law,” Reynolds said. “Where they have immunity and where they do not. We clearly lay out both sides.

“We clearly say if they have violated someone’s constitutional rights and they did this outside the scope of their duty, then they are not covered by this law.”

Alabama police have faced criminal prosecution in several high-profile cases in recent years.

A Montgomery police officer, Aaron Cody Smith, was convicted by a jury of manslaughter in 2019 for the fatal shooting of Gregory Gunn after a pursuit in 2016. A judge sentenced Smith to 14 years.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall intervened last year and entered a plea deal with Smith that allowed Smith to be released from prison for time served.

Montgomery District Attorney Daryl Bailey, who prosecuted Smith, said he was disappointed by the early release. Marshall said he believed Smith deserved a new trial but said the early release was a fair outcome to the case.

Before his trial, Smith had claimed immunity under the “stand your ground” law but a judge ruled against him after a hearing.

Former Huntsville Police Officer William Ben Darby was convicted of murder by a Madison County jury in 2021 and sentenced to to 25 years in prison.

Darby shot and killed Jeff Parker on April 3, 2018, after Parker called 911, threatening to shoot himself in his own home.

An appeals court overturned Darby’s conviction, and he was released from prison after serving about 20 months. Darby pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in 2023.

Decatur Police Officer Bailey Marquette was indicted for murder last year for the September 2023 shooting of Stephen Perkins outside Perkins’ home.

Reynolds said he was not commenting on those cases or relying on any specific cases as reasons for his bill.

“I’m not going to use individual cases in Alabama to discuss them or to use that in support of this bill,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds, elected to the Legislature in 2018 after a 35-year career with the city of Huntsville, said the legislation is intended to help build trust and support for law enforcement and help cities hire and retain police.

“We certainly feel like over the years that there has been an atmosphere of distrust and lack of support for law enforcement,” Reynolds said. “And yes, that has an impact on the profession and our ability to recruit officers. And this is exactly what the title says, it’s back the blue.

“But then again, we also very much spell out that if they don’t act in accordance to their duties and their training and their policies then they are subject to both civil and criminal liability and prosecution.”

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