Police chief says Montgomery remains a safe city despite recent shootings
There have been 28% fewer violent crimes as compared to this time last year, Graboys said. People in the community have voiced disbelief over this assertion and have said they feel unsafe.
"That's the truth. That's the numbers. When we have an uptick, we go after them," Graboys said. "... This is a safe city. I mean there's a perception out there, but numbers don't lie."
He emphasized that none of the shootings were committed randomly.
"We will not stop on these cases until they are solved," Graboys said.
The department solved about 70% of homicides last year, and this year has solved about 56%. Graboys said he expects that percentage to rise as the year progresses. The national clearance rate was at about 50% in 2022, according to a report by the Council on Criminal Justice.
"Even one homicide is too much," Graboys said. "One violent assault is too much. One sexual assault is too much."
City Communications Director Miguel Diaz-Lucier said Mayor Steven Reed declined to comment on the recent violence and deferred to Graboys.
More: Former Alabama nursing home employee pleads guilty to stealing narcotics
Weekend shootings
At about 2:41 p.m. July 10, police and fire medics responded to the 1100 block of Air Base Boulevard, where they found Brantley McNabb, a 15-year-old Montgomery resident, with fatal injuries from a gunshot wound. First responders pronounced him dead on the scene.
At about 3:55 p.m. July 12, police and fire medics responded to the 400 block of North California Street and the 1700 block of Upper Wetumpka Road, where they found Malik Benson, 27, and Dekeith, 26, with fatal injuries from gunshot wounds. First responders pronounced both of them dead at the scene. Graboys said his team is following leads on the case and that the deaths were linked.
At about 4:46 p.m. July 12, police and fire medics went to the 4100 block of Fitzpatrick Boulevard on a report of a person shot, Wise said. They found a man with life-threatening injuries, he said. Graboys said the victim was allegedly conducting a violent felony at the time of the shooting would not have been injured if he had not been doing so.
At about 5:26 p.m. July 12, officers responded to a local hospital after a man sustained a gunshot wound that was not life-threatening, Graboys said. The shooting happened in the 800 block of Ann Street.
At about 8:08 p.m. July 12, an Alabama State Trooper shot and killed Jacob B. Hutchinson, of Lawley, after Hutchinson allegedly pulled a knife on the trooper following a vehicle chase, said Capt. Jeremy Burkett, spokesman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. The trooper attempted to stop Hutchinson, who was driving a Harley Davidson Sportster, on Cobbs Ford Road in Prattville. Hutchinson refused to stop, and a pursuit began which ended in Montgomery, Burkett said. After a short foot chase, Hutchinson allegedly pulled a knife on officers, he said.
At about 2:40 p.m. July 14, an MPD officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop near Country Church Road and North Watermill Road. The officer reported that Tevoris Burt, 21, refused to stop, and the pursuit eventually ended in a foot chase, Graboys said. Burt allegedly fired at the officer, and the officer returned fire. The department dispatched more officers to the scene. No one was injured. The officer arrested Burt, and he has been charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling.
Community response
More: MPS superintendent announces $400,000 in federal funding for special education
Commentary on the surge in violence swirled on social media. City Councilwoman Marche Johnson called for the community to get involved with city programs to combat violence.
"This isn't just a headline; it's our neighbors, our friends, our community members. We are all too aware of the problem, and it's time we move beyond acknowledging it to actively seeking solutions," Johnson posted on Facebook.
Johnson pointed to the work the city is doing to reinvest in community centers and neighborhoods as a way to quell shootings in Montgomery.
"I urge everyone to get involved," Johnson said in her post. "Support these vital programs, engage in community dialogues and let's work together to heal our city and build a future free from this senseless violence."
Community leader Jamel Brown drew attention to the shootings and wrote on Facebook that "It won't stop until people CHANGE THEIR MINDSETS."
Police recruitment
More: Southern Poverty Law Center President Margaret Huang resigns
City officials have repeatedly said that the department is down numerous officers but have enough to keep the city safe. They have not recently given an exact total. Law enforcement agencies nationwide have had trouble recruiting officers in the last decade.
Graboys said he had more than 400 candidates last year. On July 11, about 30 people attended an orientation for prospective officers. He has seen similar numbers at other orientation events this year.
But that doesn't mean that all of them will become officers. He said it's important to make sure each is a good fit for the department.
"You have to get the right people," Graboys said. "You have to get people who have the qualifications. You have to get people who have the right mindset. You have to get people who have the education."
Sarah Clifton contributed to this report.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery police chief says crime is down despite recent shootings
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Montgomery man sent to federal prison on gun charges
A Montgomery man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison on firearms charges. On July 31, Calvin Craig Griffin, 22, of Montgomery was sentenced to 81 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, said acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. Following his prison term, Griffin will serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court records, on Aug. 28, 2024, officers with the Montgomery Police Department were conducting patrols in the area of Eastern Boulevard and Carmichael Road when they saw an person entering a hotel room carrying what appeared to be an AR-style pistol. Hotel management informed officers that they suspected illegal activity in that room and requested assistance in having the individuals removed from the property. More: Trial date set in kidnapping and murder case that changed Alabama laws When officers entered the room, they identified the armed individual as Griffin. Inside, they recovered an AR-style pistol with an extended magazine containing 63 rounds of ammunition. Because of prior felony convictions, Griffin is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. Griffin pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on April 21. The case was investigated by the Montgomery Police Department (MPD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit, which includes the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, ATF, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, and MPD. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@ To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery man sent to federal prison on gun charges
Time Magazine
3 days ago
- Time Magazine
Police and Courts Are Turning to AI. Is the System Ready for It?
Can AI be used to make the criminal justice system more fair and efficient, or will it only reinforce harmful biases? Experts say that it has so far been deployed in worrying ways—but that there is potential for positive impact. Today, AI tech has reached nearly every aspect of the criminal justice system. It is being used in facial recognition systems to identify suspects; in 'predictive policing' strategies to formulate patrol routes; in courtrooms to assist with case management; and by public defenders to cull through evidence. But while advocates point to an increase in efficiency and fairness, critics raise serious questions around privacy and accountability. Last month, the Council on Criminal Justice launched a nonpartisan task force on AI, to study how AI could be used in the criminal justice system safely and ethically. The group's work will be supported by researchers at RAND, and they will eventually take their findings and make recommendations to policymakers and law enforcement. 'There's no question that AI can yield unjust results,' says Nathan Hecht, the task force's chair and a former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice. 'This task force wants to bring together tech people, criminal justice people, community people, experts in various different areas, and really sit down to see how we can use it to make the system better and not cause the harm that it's capable of.' Risks of AI in law enforcement Many courts and police departments are already using AI, Hecht says. 'It's very piecemeal: Curious people going, 'Oh, wow, there's this AI out here, we could use it over in the criminal court.' But because there are few standards for how to deploy AI, civil rights watchdogs have grown concerned that law enforcement agencies are using it in dangerous ways. Thousands of agencies have come to rely upon facial recognition technology sold by companies like Clearview, which hosts a database of billions of images scraped off the internet. In many databases, Black people are overrepresented, in part because they live in communities that are overpoliced. AI technology is also worse at discerning differences in Black people's faces, which can lead to higher misidentification rates. Last year, the Innocence Project, a legal nonprofit, found that there have been at least seven wrongful arrests from facial recognition technology, six of which involved wrongfully accused Black people. Walter Katz, the organization's director of policy, says that police sometimes make arrests solely based on AI's facial recognition findings as opposed to having the AI serve as a starting point for a larger investigation. 'There's an over-reliance on AI outputs,' he says. Katz says that when he went to a policing conference last fall, 'it was AI everywhere.' Vendors were aggressively hawking technology tools that claimed to solve real problems in police departments. 'But in making that pitch, there was little attention to any tradeoffs or risks,' he says. For instance, critics worry that many of these AI tools will increase surveillance of public spaces, including the monitoring of peaceful protesters—or that so-called 'predictive policing' will intensify law enforcement's crackdowns on over-policed areas. Where AI could help However, Katz concedes that AI does have a place in the criminal justice system. 'It'll be very hard to wish AI away—and there are places where AI can be helpful,' he says. For that reason, he joined the Council on Criminal Justice's AI task force. 'First and foremost is getting our arms wrapped around how fast the adoption is. And if everyone comes from the understanding that having no policy whatsoever is probably the wrong place to be, then we build from there.' Hecht, the task force's chair, sees several areas where AI could be helpful in the courtroom, for example, including improving the intake process for arrested people, or helping identify who qualifies for diversion programs, which allow offenders to avoid convictions. He also hopes the task force will provide recommendations on what types of AI usage explicitly should not be approved in criminal justice, and steps to preserve the public's privacy. 'We want to try to gather the expertise necessary to reassure the users of the product and the public that this is going to make your experience with the criminal justice system better—and after that, it's going to leave you alone,' he says. Meanwhile, plenty of other independent efforts are trying to use AI to improve the justice processes. One startup, JusticeText, hopes to use AI to narrow the gap between resources of prosecutors and public defenders, the latter of whom are typically severely understaffed and underresourced. JusticeText built a tool for public defenders that sorts through hours of 911 calls, police body camera footage, and recorded interrogations, in order to analyze it and determine if, for example, police have made inconsistent statements or asked leading questions. 'We really wanted to see what it looks like to be a public defender-first, and try to level that playing field that technology has in many ways exacerbated in past years,' says founder and CEO Devshi Mehrotra. JusticeText is working with around 75 public defender agencies around the country. Recidiviz, a criminal justice reform nonprofit, has also been testing several ways of integrating AI into their workflows, including giving parole officers AI-generated summaries of clients. 'You might have 80 pages of case notes going back seven years on this person that you're not going to read if you have a caseload of 150 people, and you have to see each one of them every month,' says Andrew Warren, Recidiviz's co-founder. 'AI could give very succinct highlights of what this person has already achieved and what they could use support on.' The challenge for policymakers and the Council on Criminal Justice's task force, then, is to determine how to develop standards and oversight mechanisms so that the good from AI's efficiency gains outweigh its ability to amplify existing biases. Hecht, at the task force, also hopes to protect from a future in which a black box AI makes life-changing decisions on its own. 'Should we ensure our traditional ideas of human justice are protected? Of course. Should we make sure that able judges and handlers of the criminal justice system are totally in control? Of course,' he says. 'But saying we're going to keep AI out of the justice system is hopeless. Law firms are using it. The civil justice system is using it. It's here to stay.'
Time Magazine
4 days ago
- Time Magazine
Police and Courts Are Turning to AI. Is the System Ready?
Can AI be used to make the criminal justice system more fair and efficient, or will it only reinforce harmful biases? Experts say that it has so far been deployed in worrying ways—but that there is potential for positive impact. Today, AI tech has reached nearly every aspect of the criminal justice system. It is being used in facial recognition systems to identify suspects; in 'predictive policing' strategies to formulate patrol routes; in courtrooms to assist with case management; and by public defenders to cull through evidence. But while advocates point to an increase in efficiency and fairness, critics raise serious questions around privacy and accountability. Last month, the Council on Criminal Justice launched a nonpartisan task force on AI, to study how AI could be used in the criminal justice system safely and ethically. The group's work will be supported by researchers at RAND, and they will eventually take their findings and make recommendations to policymakers and law enforcement. 'There's no question that AI can yield unjust results,' says Nathan Hecht, the task force's chair and a former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice. 'This task force wants to bring together tech people, criminal justice people, community people, experts in various different areas, and really sit down to see how we can use it to make the system better and not cause the harm that it's capable of.' Risks of AI in law enforcement Many courts and police departments are already using AI, Hecht says. 'It's very piecemeal: Curious people going, 'Oh, wow, there's this AI out here, we could use it over in the criminal court.' But because there are few standards for how to deploy AI, civil rights watchdogs have grown concerned that law enforcement agencies are using it in dangerous ways. Thousands of agencies have come to rely upon facial recognition technology sold by companies like Clearview, which hosts a database of billions of images scraped off the internet. In many databases, Black people are overrepresented, in part because they live in communities that are overpoliced. AI technology is also worse at discerning differences in Black people's faces, which can lead to higher misidentification rates. Last year, the Innocence Project, a legal nonprofit, found that there have been at least seven wrongful arrests from facial recognition technology, six of which involved wrongfully accused Black people. Walter Katz, the organization's director of policy, says that police sometimes make arrests solely based on AI's facial recognition findings as opposed to having the AI serve as a starting point for a larger investigation. 'There's an over-reliance on AI outputs,' he says. Katz says that when he went to a policing conference last fall, 'it was AI everywhere.' Vendors were aggressively hawking technology tools that claimed to solve real problems in police departments. 'But in making that pitch, there was little attention to any tradeoffs or risks,' he says. For instance, critics worry that many of these AI tools will increase surveillance of public spaces, including the monitoring of peaceful protesters—or that so-called 'predictive policing' will intensify law enforcement's crackdowns on over-policed areas. Where AI could help However, Katz concedes that AI does have a place in the criminal justice system. 'It'll be very hard to wish AI away—and there are places where AI can be helpful,' he says. For that reason, he joined the Council on Criminal Justice's AI task force. 'First and foremost is getting our arms wrapped around how fast the adoption is. And if everyone comes from the understanding that having no policy whatsoever is probably the wrong place to be, then we build from there.' Hecht, the task force's chair, sees several areas where AI could be helpful in the courtroom, for example, including improving the intake process for arrested people, or helping identify who qualifies for diversion programs, which allow offenders to avoid convictions. He also hopes the task force will provide recommendations on what types of AI usage explicitly should not be approved in criminal justice, and steps to preserve the public's privacy. 'We want to try to gather the expertise necessary to reassure the users of the product and the public that this is going to make your experience with the criminal justice system better—and after that, it's going to leave you alone,' he says. Meanwhile, plenty of other independent efforts are trying to use AI to improve the justice processes. One startup, JusticeText, hopes to use AI to narrow the gap between resources of prosecutors and public defenders, the latter of whom are typically severely understaffed and underresourced. JusticeText built a tool for public defenders that sorts through hours of 911 calls, police body camera footage, and recorded interrogations, in order to analyze it and determine if, for example, police have made inconsistent statements or asked leading questions. 'We really wanted to see what it looks like to be a public defender-first, and try to level that playing field that technology has in many ways exacerbated in past years,' says founder and CEO Devshi Mehrotra. JusticeText is working with around 75 public defender agencies around the country. Recidiviz, a criminal justice reform nonprofit, has also been testing several ways of integrating AI into their workflows, including giving parole officers AI-generated summaries of clients. 'You might have 80 pages of case notes going back seven years on this person that you're not going to read if you have a caseload of 150 people, and you have to see each one of them every month,' says Andrew Warren, Recidiviz's co-founder. 'AI could give very succinct highlights of what this person has already achieved and what they could use support on.' The challenge for policymakers and the Council on Criminal Justice's task force, then, is to determine how to develop standards and oversight mechanisms so that the good from AI's efficiency gains outweigh its ability to amplify existing biases. Hecht, at the task force, also hopes to protect from a future in which a black box AI makes life-changing decisions on its own. 'Should we ensure our traditional ideas of human justice are protected? Of course. Should we make sure that able judges and handlers of the criminal justice system are totally in control? Of course,' he says. 'But saying we're going to keep AI out of the justice system is hopeless. Law firms are using it. The civil justice system is using it. It's here to stay.'
