The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill that increases penalties for eluding a police officer.
Senate Bill 233, sponsored by Sen. Lance Bell, R-Pell City, elevates the base punishment from a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, to a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
“This is the same bill we passed, the only difference was the Senate sent it down to lessen the offense of attempting to elude on foot,” Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, said Thursday, the same day the House OK’d the Senate version.
Ingram, who carried the bill, sponsored a House version that passed in that chamber on a 103-0 vote in February. Ingram’s bill would have also increased the penalty for eluding law enforcement from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Under the bill, an individual will be charged with the felony if they intentionally flee from an officer while operating a motor vehicle on a highway, road, alley or street. Individuals would be charged with a misdemeanor for eluding an officer on foot if they know the officer is attempting to make an arrest.