ALEA’s Jack Clark retires after 23 year with agency

Effective June 1, Lt. Col. Jack Clark has retired after 23 years with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.  Clark has served in law enforcement for more than 32 years, rising through the ranks to Director of the agency in 2016.

Clark coordinated federal, state and local commercial vehicle safety efforts in Alabama for many years before taking the reins of the entire agency last year.

In 1984, following his father and an older brother into law enforcement, Clark joined the Montgomery Police Dept. (MPD) as a cadet. His father worked for the Public Service Commission’s Enforcement Division, while his brother served as a state trooper.

After nine years on the force with MPD, he joined the state trooper academy in 1993, and worked as a highway patrolman before moving to the Protective Services Div.  In 2004, he was promoted to Sergeant, and then made Lieutenant in 2007.

A year later, Clark was appointed head of the then Alabama Dept. of Public Safety’s Motor Carrier Safety Unit, a division of the state troopers that enforces laws and regulation pertaining to large commercial vehicles.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do.” he told Alabama Trucker magazine in January 2009, a few months into his tenure with MCSU). “I love my job and enjoy putting on the uniform and going to work each day.”

According to Alabama Trucking Association president and CEO Frank Filgo, Clark’s genuine enthusiasm and dedication in helping Alabama’s trucking industry improve was immediately apparent.

“This Association has always had a good working relationship with the motor carrier safety unit, but Jack made it clear to me that he wanted his agency and the industry to be better partners in improving highway safety, not adversaries,” Filgo says. “And even after Jack moved on to other positions with ALEA, we have maintained very strong ties with our state troopers. In my opinion, the mutual respect that the troopers and this association share is a direct result of Jack’s leadership there. Our industry is proud to have served with him.”

Filgo adds that he is sad to see Jack leave ALEA, but pledges that his Association will continue to offer its full cooperation and support. “When I travel to industry meetings outside the state, I am always asked about our relationship with state law enforcement,” Filgo says. “I can tell you that not many state trucking associations have the close working relationship that we enjoy here in Alabama. Jack has been a large part of that. We are grateful for his leadership, and we wish him all the best for the future.”