MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday approved enhanced legal protections for police officers, changes that Republicans said show support for law enforcement but Democrats called “a green light to kill Black folks.”
The Alabama Legislature gave final approval to the legislation that sets legal standards for the use of force and provides for an immunity hearing. The bill states that an officer “shall be justified” in the use of physical force as long as it is not constitutionally excessive force or “recklessly” outside of the officer’s discretionary authority.
Republicans, who called the legislation the “Back The Blue” bill said it is needed to provide a clear legal framework and show support for law enforcement officers faced with making split-second decisions.
“We ask them to take care of us, keep us safe in our homes as we sleep at night. This bill will give them the assurances that we back them and back the blue,” Sen. Lance Bell, a former deputy sheriff, said. Bell said officers who act improperly can still be prosecuted.
The approval came after an emotional debate in which Black lawmakers read the names of Black people who have been killed by police and described their own encounters with law enforcement.
“HB 202 is a license to kill Black people. That’s what it is,” Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Black Democrat from Birmingham, said.
Smitherman said departments have very good officers, but they also have officers who are “racist against Black people” or will make impulsive decisions because they are scared.
Sen. Merika Coleman, a Black Democrat from Pleasant Grove, said she fears the bill will protect “bad apples” in police departments. She described her worries that someone might see her honors student son as a threat someday because of his tall frame and twisted locs.
“If this bill passes and there are young Black males, females, brown and other folks killed, you will have blood on your hands because of this piece of legislation,” Coleman said.
Bell urged opponents to “walk a mile in a law enforcement officer’s shoes and find out what they have to deal with.” Smitherman responded, “Walk a mile in the person’s shoes when the person is dead.”
The Alabama Senate approved the bill on a 25-6 late-night vote in the final hour of the legislative session. The House of Representatives accepted Senate changes. The bill now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey who said she will sign it into law.
“There is NO question Alabama backs the blue!” Ivey stated on social media after the bill’s passage.
Under existing state law, police and civilians alike are currently entitled to a “stand your ground” hearing in criminal cases where a judge can determine whether the defendant acted in self defense. The legislation will allow an immunity hearing where a judge will decide if a case can proceed based on whether the officer acted recklessly outside the scope of law enforcement duties. It would add similar protections in state civil lawsuits. It would also require law enforcement departments to collect data that tracks use of force complaints.
The executive director of the Alabama Sheriff’s Association, Hoss Mack, testified in favor of the bill in April.
“This is of equal benefit to law enforcement and the public. Let me reiterate what this bill does not do. It does not give blanket immunity to law enforcement,” said Mack, who added that he had personally arrested officers that worked for him for misconduct throughout his 39-year career in law enforcement.
Leroy Maxwell, a civil rights attorney based in Birmingham, said he is afraid the bill would embolden misconduct.
“Legislation like this paves the way toward a police state, where law enforcement operates above the law and without fear of consequence,” Maxwell said.
Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels opposed the law but doubted the overall impact on civil rights cases which could still be filed in federal court and will not be affected by the legislation.
“It is a lion with no teeth. It appears to be big and bad but it has no teeth and no claws,” Daniels said.
FILE -Governor Kay Ivey waves to guest after she is sworn in as the 54th Governor of Alabama during a ceremony on the steps of the Alabama State Capital, Jan. 16, 2023 in Montgomery, Ala.. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)
FILE -This photo taken in Decatur, Ala., Tuesday, March 25, 2025, shows the Alabama courthouse for a case of former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette's fatally shooting Steve Perkins in 2023. (AP Photo/Safiyah Riddle), File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
