The Alexander City Outlook

Update: Bryant Keith Ford is now in good condition after he was shot twice in a Goodwater courtroom. | Dale Liesch

Shooting victim injured after chase

The man shot by a police officer in a Goodwater municipal courtroom Thursday was involved in a car accident following a possible police chase last month, according to an Alabama Department of Public Safety accident report.

Bryant Keith Ford, the man identified as Brian or Keith by eyewitnesses and who witnesses say was involved in a shouting match with Judge Carlton Teel before a Goodwater police officer shot him twice, was injured as a result of a wreck occurring on Jan. 1 that may have involved a chase with the Alexander City Police Department, according to the crash report.

The report states that Ford was traveling North on Alabama 9 at a high rate of speed. The Chevrolet Caprice he was driving entered a curve “that he either did not see or was driving at a speed where he did not have time to react,” the report states.

The vehicle went off the left side of the road and collided with several trees.

“A Goodwater police officer informed (the trooper) that ACPD was in pursuit of a vehicle that was traveling North on Alabama 9 and he was waiting on the chase to enter his jurisdiction but ACPD called off the pursuit,” the report states. “The Goodwater police officer traveled South on Alabama 9 to try and locate the vehicle and came upon the wreck with the driver still inside. The GWPD police officer believes that the vehicle was the one ACPD was chasing but can’t prove it.”

ACPD Lt. Randy Walters found no record of a report involving a chase for the date in question when a search was performed Friday afternoon.

UAB Hospital spokeswoman Nicole Wyatt confirmed Ford was in good condition Friday afternoon, one day after he was shot once in the side and once in the back.

Alabama State Trooper spokesman Chad Joiner confirmed Friday that Teel had a gun on him at the time of the incident and that Ford attempted to grab the firearm.

Eyewitnesses Sara Williams and William Allen told The Outlook Thursday that Ford became agitated after he received a sentence of 30 days in jail or a fine of about $800 from Teel.

Witnesses disagree on what exactly happened next. Williams said Ford was shouting during the incident while Allen said Ford grabbed the judge.

At that point, Williams said the police officer shouted at Ford to “get down” before he shot Ford twice.

Joiner said he did not see metal detectors at the entrance of the courtroom in Goodwater Town Hall and added that a law enforcement officer is almost always in a courtroom when court is in session.

“There is usually always an officer present in court,” Joiner said. “Any officer in the court is working security for court.”

Joe Colquitt, Jere L. Beasley professor of law at The University of Alabama and retired Circuit Court Judge, said he could only remember a few incidents nationwide where shots were fired in a courtroom.

“My impression is there are not a lot of shootings in courtrooms, but when there are they can be devastating,” Colquitt said.

Colquitt said there were situations that resulted in a scuffle outside the courtroom, but in most cases those situations were cleared up quickly.

He said some courthouses are more secure than others with more stationary security, like posted guards or metal detectors.

Colquitt said for courthouses with little stationary security, like the ones he served in during his 20-year career, sheriff’s deputies or undercover officers were called to keep the peace.

Colquitt added that he knew some judges that carried guns with them on the bench and others that didn’t. He also said others would never disclose whether they were armed on the bench.