Montgomery officials announce stepped-up police operations after weekend shootings

The mayor of Montgomery and Montgomery Police Department leaders said they will increase police coverage and deploy new technology after a weekend that included the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old and a downtown shooting that struck buildings and a vehicle.

City officials moved a regularly scheduled Tuesday media briefing up to address the incidents and outlined operational changes meant to increase officer presence and investigative capacity.

Chief Grayboys of the Montgomery Police Department called the homicide "unacceptable" and said it "weighs on me. It weighs on all of us at the city and at the police department." He said investigators would "bring every resource to bear to bring this suspect to justice."

Grayboys described multiple responses planned for the coming days and weeks, including changes to assignments, altered shift hours and changes to officers' days off to provide more coverage in specific areas and times. He said the department will "utilize[] technology to increase our ability to apprehend suspects via increased camera coverage in the city using both license plate readers and facial recognition softwares" and that drones "will be the part and the beginning of a departmental program to increase our ability to effectively detect and respond to crime." He added, "We will not rest, and we will not stop."

Officials described two separate weekend incidents. The briefing said a 13-year-old was fatally shot; the mayor and police described that homicide as "egregious." Separately, a shooting on Birmingham Highway at Bridal left one person critically injured, and a downtown Saturday-night incident struck two buildings and a vehicle; the briefing stated that "nobody was injured [in the downtown incident], fortunately," while also saying the downtown event affected "multiple people" by perception and disruption.

The mayor (name not provided in the transcript) opened the briefing by thanking police leadership and staff and said public safety "is always a priority for my administration." The mayor said the briefing was intended to tell residents, visitors and workers what the city's "plan of action" is for the coming week, month and quarter.

Officials opened the floor to questions at the end of the briefing and then concluded the media session.

The information presented was operational in nature (adjusting patrols, using technology, reallocating hours) and described investigative priorities; no ordinance, budget vote or formal policy change was proposed or adopted during the briefing.