Gov. Nikki Haley celebrates signing of Blue Alert bill
March 7, 2012
State Rep. Eddie Tallon, SLED Chief Mark Keel, DPS Director Leroy Smith join governor
COLUMBIA, SC – March 6, 2012 – Governor Nikki Haley, State Rep. Eddie Tallon, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel, South Carolina Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith and members of the law enforcement community celebrated the signing of H 4636, the “Blue Alert” bill during a ceremony on the Statehouse steps on March 6th.
Gov. Haley said, “Today is a great day for law enforcement because we saw Director Smith and Chief Keel confirmed out of the S.C. Senate. They are the new leadership of our state’s law enforcement. I would like to thank the leadership of Representative Tallon. He took on this mission of making sure we have a Blue Alert in South Carolina. We know that South Carolina prides itself on law enforcement. We love our men and women who put on the uniform every day. We love the ones who get out there and sacrifice. This year we’ve seen the pains of that. And we’ve seen the trauma that has come when we’ve lost men and women who have put themselves in harm’s way. What this bill does is – it’s very much like the Amber Alert – it assists law enforcement in the apprehension of a suspect that allegedly kills, injures, or abducts an officer. South Carolina is the fourteenth state to take this on, which shows that we do love our law enforcement and we’re going to continue to be there for them in any way they need.”
State Rep. Tallon said, “It’s a great day in South Carolina truly for this bill to be signed into law by the governor. Law enforcement officers courageously protect and serve the people of South Carolina.”
SLED Chief Keel said, “I just want to quickly say thanks on behalf of law enforcement in South Carolina to the House, the Senate, and the governor for the speedy passage of this legislation. This legislation tries to protect those who protect our citizens, and to capture those who injure those who protect our citizens. Again I want to thank them and to thank all of our law enforcement officers for what they do daily to protect our citizens.”
