Other law enforcement agencies help in aftermath of Florence officer shooting


FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT) - Florence Officer Brian Berry is recovering after he was shot in the face early Sunday morning.

But there's more to the story, involving the power of brothers in blue. The actions of fellow law enforcement officers in the hours after the shooting is evidence of the extended family.

"When you hear an officer has been shot in the face, you think the worst case scenario," said Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler. "I wanted to get to Huntsville as quickly as I could."

So in the wee hours of Sunday morning, dispatchers put out word that chief would be driving through.

Limestone County deputies and Athens officers held up intersections to get the chief through swiftly. An Alabama state trooper did the same through Madison County.

When he arrived at Huntsville Hospital, HPD officers were waiting outside Officer Berry's emergency room.

"There is a brotherhood when you have an officer who is injured, it doesn't just affect that single agency," said Chief Tyler.

Meanwhile, the city of Florence doesn't stop, so Lauderdale County, Killen, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Rogersville stepped up. They took calls within Florence city limits so the agency could process the scene and check on their fellow officer.

"My phone was ringing immediately from other chiefs saying 'What an we do, how can we help,'" recalled Chief Tyler.

Officer Berry's priority is obviously to recover, but he still made a surprise visit to support the officers that support him.

Chief noted that the men who processed the aftermath of the scene stayed out late and, naturally, wanted to be by Berry's side, but came back knowing they had a job to do.

"We had a quick debriefing in the roll call setting, and Brian Berry walked into that roll call. It was a good moment."
