Montgomery Police and Sheriff's Office Partner to Assist With Traffic Crash Response

Montgomery City and Sheriff’s Office Partner on Weekday Traffic Crashes

Montgomery is shifting how minor fender-benders are handled on city streets. The City of Montgomery and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office announced a partnership Monday to deploy three sworn deputies into city limits specifically to investigate qualifying traffic wrecks, as WSFA reported.

Under the agreement, these deputies will respond Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The arrangement aims to free up the Montgomery Police Department for other public safety duties across the capital city. In exchange for the added personnel and operational support, the City will pay the Montgomery County Commission $936,183 annually.

Strict Limits on Deputy Response Boundaries

The Sheriff’s Office is not responding to every traffic crash in Montgomery. Cases involving personal-use vehicles that either lack injuries altogether or feature solely minor injuries will be looked into by the trio of designated deputies. MPD will continue handling crashes outside that scope and all traffic crash investigations outside those hours.

Montgomery Police and Sheriff's Office Partner to Assist With Traffic Crash Response — Photo: waka.com

Furthermore, MPD retains responsibility for several categories of incidents regardless of the day or time, as detailed by WAKA. Commercial vehicles, serious bodily injuries, fatalities or suspected fatalities, situations calling for specialized investigative staff, equipment, or resources, and any other events needing MPD’s specific personnel or investigative abilities will be avoided by sheriff’s deputies.

Based on the accord’s guidelines, minor injuries are defined as those lacking any reasonable appearance of needing emergency medical care, hospital admission, or transport for medical attention, alongside not demanding a specialized investigation. If deputies arrive at a scene and discover complications exceeding those boundaries, they must notify MPD and coordinate a transfer of the investigation.

Shared Resources and Financial Terms

Working together allows us to better serve the people who depend on us every day, said Mayor Steven L. Reed. This partnership gives MPD additional support for qualifying traffic crashes while allowing our officers to address other public safety needs across Montgomery.

The three deputies remain under the direct supervision of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, which provides their training, vehicles, and equipment. Each law enforcement agency will prepare and maintain its own incident reports for the crashes its personnel investigate.

By providing additional assistance with traffic accidents, we can reduce response times, improve the efficiency of investigations, and minimize the impact of traffic incidents on our community, said Sheriff Derrick Cunningham. Ultimately, this effort is about working together to better serve our citizens and make our roadways safer. Sheriff Derrick Cunningham

Both agencies retain the authority to request assistance from one another whenever circumstances warrant, putting motorist and public safety at the forefront of the operational response.