Sgt. Gregory “Al” McGraw, Jr., was recognized Monday night as the Andalusia Police Department’s officer of the year in a program hosted by Opp AMVETS Post 23.
APD Police Chief Paul Hudson and his command staff selected McGraw for the award, which was presented by Capt. Brett Holmes, who supervises APD’s criminal investigation division, where McGraw has worked for the past three years.
McGraw began his law enforcement career as a corrections officer at the Covington County Jail in 2012. He later became a patrol officer and graduated from the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy. He was soon promoted to criminal investigations in the sheriff’s office.
“There, Al worked under the direction of Captain Mike Irwin, who Al still credits with helping him establish a strong investigation background,” Holmes said. “Mike and I are former partners at the District Attorney’s Office and often argue about who should receive the most credit for Al’s successes.
“Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson was so impressed with Al’s work, he hired him directly into APD’s criminal investigation division in the Summer of 2021,” Holmes said.
“Since that time, Al has taken on any and every type of case thrown his way,” Holmes said. “From financial exploitation to murder, Al approaches each case with the same consistent effort and methodical approach.
“In October of 2022, Al took the lead in the murder of 22-year-old Treyvous Cobbins. Over the next ten months, Al and his partners spent every extra moment of their workday putting together a very complex case that spanned from Covington County to nearby Conecuh, to even Kentucky, Ohio and Texas.
“I can attest that working certain aspects of a case that takes you outside of your jurisdiction adds many new difficulties,” Holmes said. “However, Al never wavered. He drove hundreds of times to Evergreen collecting evidence and chasing witnesses, took plane rides to other states conducting interviews, and hunkered down in his office countless hours watching and documenting video.”
Ultimately, McGraw arrested five individuals for the murder.
“One of those individuals has been indicted for capitol murder and, to my knowledge, that is the first capital murder indictment in Covington County in almost 20 years,” Holmes said. “One of the five defendants has already pleaded guilty and the other four remain incarcerated with no bond after Al testified in an Aniah’s law hearing for each defendant.”
Holmes said the work McGraw did on that case alone was enough to earn him the officer of the year award. However, he said, McGraw also handles other difficult cases.
“Al also handles the lion’s share of our sex crimes at APD,” Holmes said. “In the two years he has led that unit, he has cleared every single sex case reported with an arrest or as unfounded. He also has a 100 percent conviction rate in those cases, thus far.”
Outside of his regular duties, McGraw is also a member of the Covington County Incident Response Team. He was recognized in 2020 by Sheriff Blake Turman for showing bravery in the line of duty when he and his team members took fire from an individual inside a house.
“Al was able to take action which neutralized the threat, and no one lost their life,” Holmes said.
McGraw also is a firearms instructor, speaks frequently in local schools, is a member of the Covington County Child Advocacy Center Multi-Disciplinary Team, and is the parttime chief in Lockhart.
Another of McGraw’s hobbies is keeping himself in good physical condition through weight training.
“As a result of that, Chief Hudson has assigned Al to work with new cadets hired by APD to ensure they meet the physical requirements to not only succeed at the police academy but excel,” Holmes said. “I have been lucky enough to assist Al in some of those training sessions and I submit to you that he does much more than train these young men and women physically. He also spends that time talking to them about what it is like to be a police officer and the pressures that come along with the job. He is truly a mentor to each he works with.
“More importantly, Al is a good son, a good husband and a good father,” Holmes said. “I am sure of that by how proudly and openly he talks about his family.”
Holmes said he knew when he learned McGraw had been selected for the honor that he would be uncomfortable receiving it.
“Not that he doesn’t appreciate the honor, but right now he is sitting here thinking how all the things I have said were, or are, a team effort and not solely him,” Holmes said. “If there ever was a person that is a ‘We over me’ individual, it is this guy.”
After being presented the award, McGraw said he would not be any of the things he is without three important components in his life.
“I appreciate all those kind words by Captain but I wouldn’t be, nor would I have accomplished, any of those things without God, my family, and my co-workers,” McGraw said. “I can’t thank you all enough for this recognition.”
AMVETS Post 23 hosts the recognition dinner each year, and recognizes full-time officers chosen by department heads. Others honored Monday night included Officer Michael Holland, Opp Police Department; Sgt. Kaleb Piland, Florala Police Department; and Deputy Michael Cheshire, Covington County Sheriff’s Office.
Retired Andalusia Police Captain Jamey Wismer was the keynote speaker for the event, the group’s seventh, and spoke about what it takes to be a police officer. Wismer delivered a powerful message and spoke of his love of law enforcement and what an impact it had on his journey as a husband, father and Christian.
The City of Andalusia will be closed on Friday, March 29, 2024, in observance of Good Friday.
Friday's garbage routes will be picked up on Monday, April 1, 2024, along with Monday's routes. Please have hobos out early.
On a recent afternoon, Andalusia Animal Shelter manager Kayla Robbins received more than 50 messages to her personal Facebook account in the time it took her to drive from her in-laws’ home to her own.
All of the messages were from people who wanted to adopt a French bulldog or “Frenchie” from the shelter.
Unbeknownst to Robbins, the Animal Shelter’s Facebook page had been hacked, and the hackers had removed her as an administrator and proceeded to post photographs of coveted dogs, along with a link where those interested were encouraged to make a “refundable” deposit.
It was all a scam.
“In the nine years I’ve worked here, we’ve never had a Frenchie,” Robbins said.
When she realized what had happened, she quickly attempted to spread the word on Facebook through her personal account, and created a new one for the Animal Shelter. She believes the hackers began their work months before this successful takeover.
“Months ago, I got an email one day that said somebody had been added to page as an administrator,” she recalled. “There are only two of us who work here, so I clicked on a link and removed the new administrator.”
Shortly after Christmas, she received similar emails about a dozen or so people being added as administrators of the page. Again, she attempted to remove them.
Since the hackers locked her out of the shelter page, she has reported the incident to Facebook daily, as have other City of Andalusia employees. Facebook has offered its assistance in recovering the page.
The Andalusia Animal Shelter does have a new page, as social media has proven effective in helping find homes for shelter animals.
“If I had a different way to notify the public when we have animals up for adoption, I would use it,” she said.
The Animal Shelter uses software that requires workers to create unique identification numbers for animals, and those animals are uploaded to Adopt-A-Pet and Petfinder, which are websites that create nationwide databases of adoptable animals.
While the Andalusia Animal Shelter does charge adoption fees, it does not accept deposits online. Robbins encourages anyone who is confused about which page is the “real” one to call the shelter with questions at 334-222-8705.
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, a generation & transmission cooperative serving the Utilities Board of the City of Andalusia’s wholesale power needs, officially dedicated the new, state-of-the-art Lowman Energy Center (LEC) in a special ceremony on March 22.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey attended the event to celebrate the 710-megawatt natural gas facility, which began commercial operation on Sept. 20, 2023.
“History is being made today,” Ivey said of LEC’s completion, referencing LEC’s status as one of the most efficient power plants in the United States. “America’s future is dependent upon its access to abundant industry, including electricity. Economic development and thousands of new, good-paying jobs, both here in Alabama and for our neighbors in Florida, are directly tied to projects like the Lowman Energy Center.”
Mayor Earl Johnson, who also serves on PowerSouth’s Board of Directors, was on site to celebrate the dedication of the plant, which replaces the historic coal-fired Charles R. Lowman Power Plant that had operated for 51 years.
“LEC is a tremendous accomplishment for PowerSouth and a blessing for our area,” Johnson said. “The power it generates will supply our members around-the-clock, especially on cold winter mornings or extremely hot summer afternoons when other generation sources may not be available. Natural gas is also abundant and, for the most part, affordable, so LEC will help to keep down our members’ electric bills as much as possible.”
PowerSouth’s President & CEO, Gary Smith, said the plant will be a workhorse in supporting the cooperative’s mission to provide reliable and affordable power to its members.
“LEC is not only very efficient, but it also has access to a very good, affordable gas supply,” Smith said. “PowerSouth has 20 members in Alabama and Florida, and I want to thank them for their confidence and support in allowing us to move forward in building this plant. It will be there for them to serve their wholesale power needs for decades. We are excited about LEC, and excited about the future.”
Collectively, PowerSouth provides power to the City of Andalusia and 19 other distribution members, and these members supply safe, reliable, affordable power to more than a million end-of-line members.
The City of Andalusia is forming a Law Enforcement Advisory Committee resulting from a meeting Mayor Earl Johnson and Councilman Joe Nix held with community stakeholders on Sunday afternoon.
The meeting was set after a local woman, Twyla Stallworth, through her Georgia attorney, accused the Andalusia Police Department of racism during her arrest on February 23, 2024. The woman has not filed a complaint with the police department, but the allegation was made in a press release issued by her Georgia attorney and circulated widely online.
While standing on her front porch, the woman was arrested for refusing to show her identification when an officer responded to a neighbor’s complaints about her violation of the city’s noise ordinance.
An 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling recently changed the interpretation of Code of Alabama, Section 15-5-30, authorizing peace officers to demand identification. The Court’s ruling states that individuals are not required to present identification while on private property. However, there are a number of exceptions to that rule, which could cause confusion.
On Friday, Mayor Earl Johnson issued a public apology to Ms. Stallworth for her arrest, and announced that all charges have been dropped. In the statement, he also said the officer has been reprimanded for his failure to know the law.
At Sunday’s meeting, organized by Councilman Nix and attended by approximately 50 people, Mayor Johnson and Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson discussed the case and answered questions about the arrest and police training.
Mayor Johnson assured those in attendance that the arrest in question is the subject of an ongoing investigation. After reviewing the officer’s body camera footage with Councilman Nix, the city attorney, and leaders of the Andalusia Police Department, he said, he has seen no evidence of the alleged racism.
When asked in the meeting about implicit bias, Chief Hudson assured the group that implicit bias is a topic regularly included in APD required training.
The planned Law Enforcement Advisory Committee was the brainchild of those in attendance, and was quickly embraced by Mayor Johnson. Mayor Johnson appointed Councilman Nix to chair the committee, and said committee members will be charged with bringing concerns of the community to the attention of law enforcement officers, and will hold quarterly meetings.
Mayor Johnson stated he hopes that these actions will help prevent similar situations in the future.