The Cullman City Police Department is looking to restructure its personnel after a series of recent traffic fatalities killed four individuals in the city since Nov. 20.

Before receiving his appointment to lead CPD in September, Chief Joey Duncan supervised the department’s traffic unit and worked as a coordinator for a specialized traffic homicide unit. He told The Times in September that while those had been among the most challenging roles in his career, he was proud of the progress the department had made in reducing the number of fatal wrecks to some of the lowest in nearly a decade.

“Our traffic crashes had been increasing over the last few years, including traffic fatalities. We made that a target area of ours to get those down. Over the last two years, the traffic fatalities have lowered to some of the lowest percentages we’ve seen in about the last eight or nine years,” Duncan said.

On Monday, Dec. 9, Duncan joined Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry, District Attorney Champ Crocker and several other statewide law enforcement representatives, to address a recent spike in traffic fatalities which have occurred during the last several weeks. The CPD is in the process of boosting the number of traffic-specific officers.

“One of the things we are about to roll out — because manpower is an issue — is a traffic unit. Those guys are specialized in traffic homicide or recinstructionists and will work all vehicle crashes and primarily target what is causing these crashes,” Duncan said.

Monday evening, Duncan appeared at the Cullman City Council meeting where it was approved for the CPD to update its field training officers and traffic homicide investigators policies to add one more investigator by eliminating a field training officer position.

Duncan said while the overall number of traffic accidents — and deaths — in the city remains lower than previous years, officers continue to encounter issues with drivers following other vehicles too closely and driving while distracted.

Senior trooper with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Brandon Bailey said distracted driving, speeding and vehicle occupants not wearing seatbelts have been the cause of traffic deaths throughout the state.

“We want you to be intentional. Try your best to do what is right. If we do that, we can bring these fatalities down,” Bailey said during Monday’s press conference. “One fatality from one car crash is too many. We can talk about stats all day, but just that one and we’ve lost.”

Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry offered a reminder for drivers to not drive under the influence — or to let others who are intoxicated behind the wheel — as they traverse the roadways during the busier holiday season.

“One of the things we see in the county is accidents where people are under the influence,” Gentry said. “If you’re going to get out and drink and drive or do drugs and drive — we’re going to put you in jail.”

Duncan also noted that pedestrians have a responsibility to adopt safe practices as well.

“We are encouraging pedestrians, don’t cross highways. If you do, use a crosswalk. If there’s not a crosswalk, don’t cross. At nighttime, you’re wearing dark clothing, vehicles aren’t seeing you. At 50mph the speed limit, the vehicle is traveling about 70 feet per second, so it is hard to judge the speed,” said Duncan.

Patrick Camp can be reached at pcamp@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 238.