Two veteran law enforcement officers have been appointed to help Montgomery as it battles gun violence and other crimes in the city.
Mayor Steven Reed on Tuesday named Jim Graboys as interim police chief, following the April resignation of former Chief Darry Albert.
He also named former Mobile Police Chief and Executive Director of Public Safety Lawrence Battiste as special public safety advisor to the mayor.
Graboys is currently a senior compliance specialist with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. He served as police chief at Alabama State University from 2012 through 2019 and previously served in the Montgomery Police Department for 20 years.
Graboys held several leadership positions in the Montgomery Police Department during his tenure there and received both the Medal of Valor and the Medal of Merit.
He left the department at the rank of major in 2011 to establish ASU’s Violence Against Women program.
Graboys will officially take the helm July 15, but said his work has already begun.
Deputy Chief John Hall has served as acting chief since Albert’s resignation, where he oversaw police, fire, and public safety communications.
“Chief Hall has done phenomenally well in some tough circumstances,’’ Reed said, “with some challenges not any fault of his own.”
“We appreciate not only what he has done for MPD, but also what he has done in the community,’’ the mayor said.
Of Graboys, Reed said, “Chief Graboys is a well-known and highly respected officers with the department and throughout the community.”
“We are immensely fortunate to have someone of his caliber and experience agree to step into the role of interim chief,’’ the mayor said. “His track record of leadership and community engagement is exactly what Montgomery needs at this juncture.”
Graboys spoke at a Tuesday press conference announcing his appointment.
“I’m going to do everything within my power, everything within my ability, to leave no stone unturned to marshal every resource available to go after these offenders, to go after the people who want to make you unsafe, and to create community partnerships,’’ Graboys said.
“If we marshal all of resources and we pull together, we can make this city into whatever it is we want it to be,’’ he said. “Any of these problems, whether crime is up or crime is down, one crime is too many and affects all of our neighborhoods.”
“This is not a partisan issue, it’s not an us or them issues,’’ he said. “It’s an all of us issue.”
Mayor Steven Reed named former Mobile Police Chief and Executive Director of Public Safety Lawrence Battiste as special public safety advisor to the mayor.(Carol Robinson)
Reed said over the last several months as authorities have searched for a permanent police chief, Battiste’s name was among those brought forward.
“When you think about the work he has done, not only as a public safety director but as a police chief…he comes with distinction, he comes with a level of statewide respect, and national respect for his leadership capabilities,’’ Reed said, “and for the type of person he is – one of character, one of transparency, one of integrity, and one who really is about improving the community.”
As a special advisor to the mayor, Battiste will work with Reed to develop new strategies and tactics to decrease gun violence and other crimes, as well as make other recommendations on how the department can better engage with the community and implement preemptive measures to prevent violence.
Battiste served as the City of Mobile’s Public Safety Director from 2021 through 2023 where he oversaw police, fire and public safety communications.
Prior to that, Battiste served as Mobile’s police chief 2017 through 2021.
He has been in law enforcement for decades, and previously served as police chief in Pritchard and with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
“I don’t bring with me a silver bullet but what I do bring with me is the wisdom and the understanding of knowing that the men and the women that are a part of the team are your greatest assets and you have to make sure they are engaged in the process,’’ Battiste said.
He said they will work to improve trust with the community as well as trust within the department.
Reed said the search for a permanent police chief continues.
