Brad Johnson Act awaiting Ivey’s signature

April 17, 2023

Chelsea Barton,

Bibb County’s residents are rejoicing as Senate Bill 1, known as the Brad Johnson Act, has passed the Alabama legislature and awaits Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature.

It’s named for fallen Bibb County Sheriff Deputy Brad Johnson, who was killed in the line of duty last year.

The Brad Johnson Act will reduce how much state inmates can shave off their sentences after accruing “good time.”

State Sen. April Weaver, who is from Bibb County and was a friend of Johnson’s, sponsored the bill.

Law enforcement agencies from around the state lobbied extensively for this bill because the man charged in Johnson’s death, Austin Patrick Hall, has a long criminal record but had accumulated more than 2,000 days of good time while incarcerated.

“It is a great honor for this to pass is Brad’s name,” said Fraternal Order of Police trustee and former Centreville Police Chief Mike Nichols. “(Johnson) sacrificed his life for this county, this state and this country. It’s a tremendous honor. Also, not only will it help law enforcement, it will help the individual citizens of the state from the recurring mistakes of letting criminals out too early”

Nichols said it’s an honor to know Brad’s sacrifice will potentially save the lives of others in the future.

“Brad was all around,” Nichols. “He had a lot of friends. A lot of the officers are hurting still today.”

Johnson is still impacting and inspiring the community he died protecting. Centreville Police Officer Trenton Page just graduated from the police academy this week.

“I was actually one of the firefighters who was on the scene that day,” Page said. “I will always remember him as the person he was and as the type of policeman he was and the work that he did. He went above and beyond every single day for his community. ”

Johnson’s name will be engraved into the Fallen Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., next month. A GoFundMe campaign raised $12,500 to send his daughters to that ceremony.