By: Sarah Johnson
In Closer Looks this week, I am looking at Alabama bill HB309. This bill was introduced in early April, crossed over in the second half of May and was passed and signed on May 31st. HB309 expressly grants “Briarwood Presbyterian Church and its integrated auxiliary Briarwood Christian School [the authority] to appoint and employ one or more suitable persons to act as police officers to keep off intruders and prevent trespass upon and damage to the property…[and] the institute. These persons shall be charged with all the duties and invested with all the powers of police officers.” A similar bill was originally proposed in 2017 but it died in the House.
Upon the passage of this legislation, Briarwood released a statement saying that although the school “is grateful for and enjoys a wonderful working relationship with the law enforcement agencies in the communities in which it resides” it recognizes restrictions identified by the Emergency Task Force on School Safety and Security with the state budget. Briarwood has 4,100 members including around 2,000 students and faculty on its campuses. The school said a demand for APOSTC (Alabama Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission) qualified first responders and budgetary issues have led to issues with full-time staffing of protective officers on their two campuses. Current code in Alabama allows schools to hire their own protection officers and because of this, the church said
“Alabama Code 16-22 allows certain educational institutions to appoint and employ one or more suitable persons to act as police officers to keep off intruders and prevent trespass upon the institution property. The institutions currently provided the protection under this statute include a number that have less students than does Briarwood Christian School.”
This bill allows for the church to establish their own police force, the Briarwood Presbyterian Church Police Department (BPCPD), but there are limitations their officers must abide by that police officers who serve on community forces are not subjected to. Officers will be trained and certified by the APOSTC and have all the powers of any other law enforcer in the state, aside from the ability to wield a firearm. The legislation authorizes less-lethal weapons like Tasers, ASPs (batons) and OC (pepper) spray which enable officers to temporarily incapacitate assailants. The bill states:
“Any person appointed to act as a [Briarwood Presbyterian Church] police officer, pursuant to subsection (a), while on duty, shall carry and be trained in the proper use of a nonlethal weapon. For the purposes of this subsection, a nonlethal weapon is a weapon that is explicitly designed and primarily employed to immediately incapacitate the targeted person while minimizing fatalities and permanent injury. A nonlethal weapon is intended to have a reversible effect on the targeted person.”
There has been some outcry over the bill on separation of church and state grounds. Randall Marshall, the executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, told the AP that the law could allow the church to cover-up criminal activity that occurs on its campuses. He expects the law to be challenged in the courts for unconstitutionally granting government power to a religious institution. Others, like Hemant Mehta, have some thought provoking questions especially about what happens if something goes wrong. Who has ultimate authority, the church or the state? Personally I wonder if any of these legislators read Game of Thrones and remembers how things went with the Faith Militant under the High Sparrow.
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