Attorney General Steve Marshall travels state honoring fallen officers
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall spent part of his day Thursday in Bibb and Tuscaloosa counties. Marshall’s first stop was in Bibb County at the sheriff’s office to honor Deputy Brad Johnson, who was killed in the line of duty in June 2022.
“Brad’s story has been told widely and it should be,” Marshall said. “Not only is he a hero in this community but his loss is also a lesson for us in this state about how we need to do things better, particularly the way his murderer was released and how he was on the street. I appreciate the efficacy of the sheriff and this department in what should be a change in Alabama’s law, with an act that will honor Brad by name.”
Investigator Chris Poole was also shot during the incident that took Johnson’s life. Poole returned to his job and continues the profession that he and Brad loved so much.
“Nothing can change the heart I have for this job,” Poole said. “Through everything I have been through, losing Brad has made me a stronger kind of person, and as I have always said, “Brad is still a front seat rider with me.”
After his time in Centreville, Marshall made his way to Tuscaloosa to remember Senior Trooper Jason Vice, who passed away from COVID- 19 in 2021.
“For it is written, there is no greater love than this than a man that lay down his life for his friends,” Marshall said.
Vice’s wife Jenny opened up about her late husband and how much his brothers in blue meant to him.
“I am so thankful,” Jenny said. “I appreciate everything. I appreciate they will never forget him because he loved them so much. He was proud of working and serving for the state of Alabama.”
Vice’s daughters Isabella, now 14, and Lillian Rose, 9, received a special gift from Marshall, one their dad would certainly be proud of.
“I am going to give you my challenge coin,” Marshall said. Next time when I see you, and you have your challenge coin, I have to buy you lunch. But the other side of that is, if I see you and you don’t have my challenge coin, you have to buy my lunch, and we are not going to McDonald’s. That is my way of saying you’re special.”
