Morris resident Bill Batson spent over 30 years in law enforcement, raiding whiskey stills and busting drug deals.

By Ashley McCleery

The North Jefferson News



Going undercover, using a fake name, busting drug deals…this may sound like the next Bond movie, but this was Morris resident Bill Batson’s life.

Although both his grandfathers were doctors, Batson followed in his father’s footsteps by going into law enforcement. Right after high school, Batson jumped into action by working as the army security agency in England during the cold war.

From 1963 to 1965, Batson acted as an electronic spy, but he said his favorite part of the job was befriending the British locals. “Me and my buddy would meet with the people during our breaks, and we hung out at spas a lot- parks here,” he said. “We talked to all sorts of people there and were even invited back home to eat with them.”

After Batson’s service term was over, he went back home to Wilsonville, where his father soon ushered him into his work at the Birmingham police department. Despite Batson’s desire to protect society, he said working the midnight shift for three years was less than satisfying.

Each night he patrolled East Lake and Woodlawn businesses on a three-wheeler, keeping watch for possible break-ins. “It was boring because I was by myself riding the allies,” he said.

Batson soon traded in patrolling businesses for raiding alcohol stills at his new job at the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board. Since the area was supposed to be a dry county, Batson and his team investigated, discovered and eliminated underground whiskey factories.

“Whiskey making is the oldest art around,” Batson said. “But our job was to look for whisky stills and stake them full of dynamite and let them go.”

Fires set the sky ablaze, especially during the memorable raid when Batson’s team discovered 13 1,000-gallon stills. “We hadn’t seen anything quite like that,” he said.

Even though Batson enjoyed raiding whiskey stills, he decided to go undercover, busting drug deals with the Narcotic department of the Alabama Bureau of Investi-gation. As an undercover agent, Batson worked with an informer, a former drug dealer that decided to cooperate with the government, to catch drug dealers in the act.

“I would show up as a drug buyer and buy drugs. Once we bought the drugs, we took the drug dealers to a grand jury, indict them and then bust them.”

While working in the drug scene for about 20 years, Batson witnessed jaw-dropping incidents such as busting city officials in the drug business and catching several members in the mafia while they awaited several airplane loads of marijuana from Columbia.

“When we caught them [the members of the mafia], they dropped their guns and gave up. They didn’t use their guns because they didn’t want to mess with the government since their guns were only for those that could try and steal their drugs and rip them off.”

In 1998 with more than 30 years of service to the law enforcement, Batson retired. But, he said his women keep him just as busy. “I’m the only man for four women- my wife, daughter, granddaughter and mother in law. They do not understand what retired means.”

Today, Batson volunteers with his wife, Judy, with meals on wheels, supports the Morris police and fire department and escorts his granddaughter to school and cheerleading practice.

He said he’s very content but often reflects on his experiences. “What makes me feel good is when I run into someone I put in prison, and they tell me they hold no animosity toward me,” Batson said. “They tell me that if I hadn’t arrested them, they would be dead by now.”