Governor signs Briarwood police officer bill into law

Editor's note: This story was updated on June 17, 2019, with information from Gov. Kay Ivey's office.

After two previous unsuccessful attempts, Briarwood Presbyterian Church has received state Legislative approval to employ police officers on its church and school campuses.

House Bill 309, which was passed and delivered to Gov. Kay Ivey at the end of the legislative session on May 31, impacts Briarwood Presbyterian Church and K4-6 campus in Vestavia Hills, Briarwood Christian School on Cahaba Valley Road and Madison Academy in Huntsville.

On June 17, Ivey's press secretary, Gina Maiola, said the governor had signed the bill into law.

The text of HB 309 allows the president or chief executive of each campus to employ police officers to “keep off intruders and prevent trespass upon, and damage to, the property of the school or academy.” An amendment to the bill, proposed by the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security in May, allows the officers to arrest people who commit unlawful acts on the property.

As approved by the state House, the bill amends Section 16-22-1 of Alabama Code, which currently permits colleges and universities in the state, as well as the Alabama Institute of the Deaf and Blind, to employ police officers on campus. Those officers have all the duties and powers of regular police but must carry a nonlethal weapon and must be certified by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission.

No other elementary, middle or high school facilities are listed in the code.

A similar bill had been discussed in 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions, including making it to Gov. Robert Bentley’s desk in 2015, but it has never been passed into law.

District 48 Rep. Jim Carns sponsored the bill in the state House. He has not returned several contact attempts by 280 Living.

Briarwood Presbyterian Church Administrator Matt Moore said on May 17, when the bill was still under committee discussion, that the church was not ready to talk about it and wanted to “see if we get any traction.” He also has not returned calls from 280 Living since the bill was approved by the House.

During previous discussions of similar bills, the church has cited the near constant activity on its campuses as the reason to employ its own officers, rather than waiting for responding officers from nearby police departments.