Former Selma Police Officer Promoted to ALEA Captain – The Selma Times‑Journal

Donald R. Shepard Jr. was headed toward a career in law enforcement.

Shepard was recently promoted to captain in the Alabama Department of Public Safety Law Enforcement Agency. Shepard will serve as commander of Troop C, consisting of the Tuscaloosa and Selma Posts covering 10 counties in western Alabama. The Selma Post serves Dallas, Perry, Wilcox, Hale and Marengo counties. The Tuscaloosa Post serves Tuscaloosa, Bibb, Pickens, Greene and Sumter counties.

“I am very honored and humbled and excited about my future with ALEA,” Shepard said. “I have enjoyed serving the citizens of West Alabama for the past 28 years. I hope my life and career inspire others to follow in my footsteps and become an Alabama State Trooper.”

Shepard graduated from Citronelle High School in 1992 and credits his work with the Selma Police Department as a key part of his early career.

“I worked for the Selma Police Department for six and a half years on the third shift,” Shepard said. “I had the opportunity to learn from some of the best supervisors you could ever have – Capt. Michael Perry, Lt. Gary Vancil and Sgt. Chuck Webber. We were very close, we had a dynamic team, great officers like Calvin (Doc) Brantley, Willie Felder, Jimmy (Jam) Sturdivant, Moses (Quake) Suttles, Randy Tucker, David Hopkins, Glenn Lewellen and Jeff (The Flash) Persinger.

“For three and a half of those six years, I was a sergeant on the night shift, in the famous B-4 unit. We had some new officers with the same drive, like Mike Rushing, Josh McDanal, Brian Dixon, the late Fredrick Walker, Harry Tubbs, Brian Gallion and the late Troy Stokes. We made sure everybody went home, the bad guys went to jail, and we were fair and compassionate to the citizens and committed to the city of Selma. Some of my best years were spent in the Selma Police Department.”

Shepard, the son of Donald R. Shepard Sr. and Wilma Shepard, said his family and mentor have always encouraged and supported him.

“I wish my mentor, the late Selma Police Chief EL Tate, and my late grandmother Vivian Shepard were here to celebrate this accomplishment with me,” Shepard said. “My career has been a blessing and I intend to go as far as God allows me to. My wife Tracy Shepard, my daughters Calandra Morrow, Jailyn and Kailyn Shepard, Jada and McKinley Braxton, and my grandson Mason have inspired me to achieve my goals.”

Shepard recalls his first duties as a Marine.

“My first assignment as a police officer was in Wilcox County, where I met Sergeant Clarence Mitchell of the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Department, who showed me how it worked,” Shepard said. “I eventually moved back home to Dallas County. The training to be a police officer was different, but I had the best training officers in the state, current ALEA Training Academy Capt. Terry King and retired Corporal Nobert Neele. I also worked with retired Corporal Jeff Walker, Police Officer John Reese and retired Lt. Sylvester Martin. I spent several years in criminal investigations with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation Division, where I learned from the best investigator in the state, retired Deputy Chief Johnny Tubbs. We worked on several cases together, along with Dan Watson, David Ratcliffe and Joe Lee.”

Shepard speaks proudly of the many people who have helped him develop his career.

“Some people might ask why I mentioned so many names. It’s because these are the people who had such a great influence on my career,” Shepard said. “These are the people, along with my family, to whom I owe this promotion as well. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of my closest friends, Sergeant John C. Young of the Mobile Police Department and the late Citronelle Police Chief Clarence Parker. I am forever grateful.”