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Attorney General visits Decatur to honor fallen officers

MORGAN COUNTY, AL (WAFF)- Fallen officers are being remembered across the country this week.

Wednesday morning, the State Attorney General, Luther Strange, met with officers in Decatur.

He took part in Morgan County's Annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service.

Families of fallen officers were honored as people gathered to remember those who died while protecting the community.

"They do it for selfless reasons. The put themselves on the line ever day and we just can't thank them enough. As Attorney General, on behalf of all the citizens, I take every opportunity I can to thank the ones who are doing it every day and to honor the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice," said Strange.

Three Alabama law enforcement officers lost their lives in the line of duty in 2011. This year, Mobile officer Steven Green died after a robbery suspect stabbed him in February.

Video surfaces of Rolando Mcclain assault

DECATUR, AL (WAFF)- New video surfaced shedding light on an assault case involving former Alabama football start and Oakland Raider Rolando Mcclain.

The video came out just one day before Mcclain was set to go in front of the Morgan County judge.

 Mcclain will face a judge Thursday and answer to charges of assault, reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm.

The fight occurred in December. The video, obtained by the Decatur Daily, showed Mcclain and the alleged victim, Christian Tapscott, at a Decatur residence on Skyview Street arguing. It also shows another man charged with assault, Jarradius Willinham beating on the victim.

The victim claimed Mcclain pulled out a pistol, pressed it to his head and then fired it right past his ear. However, that is never seen in the video.

Decatur family's dog attacked by a coyote on security camera

DECATUR, AL (WAFF)- Video showed a coyote attacking and killing a Decatur family's dog last week.

The coyote is seen on the security camera lurking in the distance and then charging at the small dog on the porch.

Decatur Animal Services office Miles Naylor said there have been a rise in coyote attacks and sightings primarily in the western part of the city.

"Six foot privacy fences are not going to keep a coyote out. The coyote will jump the fence, and a small dog is in more danger than a larger dog. So, people need to be careful and pay attention to what's going on in their neighborhood. If they see a coyote, they need to precautions to protect their pet," Naylor said.

He added there is only so much animal control can do to protect pets that pet owners have to take measures to keep their dogs and cats safe.

NRC holds third public meeting on power plant issues

DECATUR, AL (WAFF)- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold another public meeting regarding the safety issues at the Browns Ferry Plant.

This is the third meeting the NRC has held regarding the issue.

They will discuss what they found during their recent inspection at the nuclear plant. Last year the NRC found a "red" issue due to the failure of a low pressure cooling valve. The valve was quickly repaired.

An NRC red finding has only happened at a few plants across the country. Plant officials said they're addressing the issues that the NRC discovered. The third phase will be the most intensive inspection, up to 30 inspectors scouring the plant for nearly a month.

That is expected to happen sometime in October or November.

Copyright 2012 WAFF. All rights reserved.

Athens council denies request from Shoals ambulance company to operate in city

Athens council denies request from Shoals ambulance company to operate in city

al.com (blog)
Athens council denies request from Shoals ambulance company to operate in city
al.com (blog)
By Keith Clines, The Huntsville Times ATHENS, Alabama - The City Council on Monday night voted not to grant a franchise to Med-Call of the Shoals that would be the second ambulance service in the city, The Athens News Courier reported.
City Council rejects 2nd ambulance serviceNews Courier... Read More

Morgan County authorities round up bad check writers

DECATUR, AL (WAFF)- Police in Morgan County set out Monday afternoon to round up as many as 62 people who haven't made good on their bad checks and arrest them.

The Morgan County District Attorney's Worthless Check Unit does these three or four times a year.

They give fair warning a few weeks ahead of time, giving offenders time to pay their debt without being charged. The ones on Monday's list did not pay and they will be charged.

Officials said they are investigating fewer bad check cases because more businesses only take cash or cards. But the ones that are still taking checks are the smaller businesses that can least afford to get ripped off. They are also the ones being targeted more.

Rapist pleads guilty 18 years after crime in Decatur

DECATUR, AL (WAFF)- The man who raped a teen girl in Decatur has brought to justice nearly 20 years after he committed the crime.

It is the fourth life sentence for Kenneth Jackson for four separate rapes. Two of them were solved because of DNA testing.

The investigation went into the 1994 rape of a 16-year-old Decatur girl had gone cold. In 2009, Decatur Police detectives got a match with a national DNA database compared to a sample they kept from a hospital exam of the victim. The result pointed to Kenneth Jackson, who was already in prison having already been convicted for two other rapes.

Authorities brought Jackson before Morgan County Judge Sherrie Paler last week and he pleaded guilty to raping the girl.

Prosecutors said the justice served now is because of the new technology and because of the determination of the Decatur Police Department investigators.