City of Montgomery names interim police chief

2016 file photo of former ASU police chief Jim Graboys./Source: Action 8 News

The City of Montgomery now has an interim police chief.

Mayor Steven Reed announced in a press conference Tuesday that former ASU Police Chief Jim Graboys will serve as the interim until a permanent police chief can be named.

Graboys served as police chief at Alabama State University from 2012-2019. More recently, he worked with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Before his tenure at ASU, he was a 20-year veteran of the Montgomery Police Department, where he held several leadership positions within MPD’s Patrol, Juvenile, and Community Oriented Policing divisions and received both the Medal of Valor and the Medal of Merit. He left MPD as a major in 2011 to establish ASU’s Violence Against Women Program.

Graboys will take over for Chief Deputy John Hall who has served as Acting Police Chief since former police chief Darryl Albert resigned in April. Graboys will take over the position on July 15.

In addition, Mayor Reed also announced former Mobile police chief Lawrence Battiste IV as the new Special Advisor to the Mayor regarding public safety.

Battiste served as Mobile’s police chief from 2017 to 2021 before taking over as Public Safety Director. Battiste remained in that position until he resigned in May 2023.