Wiregrass agencies attend law enforcement seminar

Law enforcement officers from across the Wiregrass and parts of Florida came together in Geneva Dec. 13, to attend the Fifth Annual Wiregrass Law Enforcement Seminar.

The event, hosted by Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams and Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska, allows officers to receive training on the most current law enforcement issues.

Adams said the event, which is free for the officers, started five years ago with about 85 officers attending.

The event has since grown to welcome about 250 law enforcement officers.

Adams said he and Valeska communicate with local officers and find out what topics they are most interested in learning about.

"It's a good chance for these officers to get (some) education. These small agencies just can't afford to send 10 officers to Birmingham to spend the night to go to some expensive class," Adams said. "Over the five years I think we've done a good job of getting good speakers."

The Coffee County Sheriff's Office had about eight deputies attend the seminar.

Deputy Chief Ronnie Whitworth said it's a great event for officers to attend because it's free and provides much needed training on topics that are current and can be directly applied to their everyday work.

"The conference is always good," Whitworth said. "They do a fantastic job putting it together. You're learning beneficial information, which gives you an idea about the obstacles you might face (in the line of duty)."

This year's event, attended by about 55 different agencies, focused on criminal law updates regarding search and seizure laws, the new Alabama gun law and also information related to the Midland City hostage standoff situation that occurred earlier this year.

About 30 to 40 different agencies were involved in the Midland City hostage crisis, which involved a man shooting a school bus driver, taking a child from the school bus and placing the child into an underground bunker where he was held hostage for a week.

A team eventually entered the bunker, shot the man, and was able to save the child.

It was through the cooperation of the many different agencies that helped the crisis come to an end.

Stephen Richardson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson, spoke about the events regarding the Midland City hostage crisis.

"(They were) discussing how the agencies worked together, things they learned, things that agencies could be prepared for in the future, the networking of different agencies and how that helped make a positive outcome of a very bad situation," Adams said.

"I appreciate the district attorneys (for) putting this on," said Olson. "Training is a vital part of what we do ... It's a real important day for law enforcement to be able to come together and further their careers."

The event not only educates officers, but it also allows officers to network with one another, which is important when agencies need to call on the assistance of other agencies.

"Criminals don't have jurisdictional boundaries," Olson said. "When you have a criminal that may commit a crime in your jurisdiction and he flees to another jurisdiction, it helps to have someone you can call that you know on a first name basis to be able to try and bring that individual to justice. It makes it a lot easier to do your job when you're able to communicate with other jurisdictions and agencies around our Wiregrass area."

Bill Lisenby from the Attorney General's Office also spoke with officers about updates with search and seizure laws.

"Those laws change all the time," Adams said. "You have to know what the law is and how it's being interpreted by the courts."

The information is helpful to patrol officers making a traffic stop, investigators who need to know whether they need a search warrant to further investigations and prosecutors who need to know if they can go forward with a case, Adams said.

Barry Matson, from Office of Prosecution Services, also spoke about mental health and the new Alabama gun law.