Hartselle holds vigil for injured officer at municipal hall

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - More than 50 people, including Hartselle mayor Randy Garrison attended this vigil to support one of their own, Officer Lynn Dean. It’s been one week since Dean was hospitalized after fracturing his skull while patrolling an area where a church was recently burglarized. Hartselle Chief of Police Justin Barley says this vigil is just one way the community is supporting one of their own.

“We’ve been working on ways to make that happen because we definitely need to step up for Sergeant Dean in his time of recovery,” Chief Barley says. “We appreciate everybody so willing and eager to do so.”

The vigil began with Chief Barley thanking everybody for attending. Officer Dean’s family then lead the crowd in song and in prayer. Chief Barley also gave the crowd an update on Officer Dean’s condition.

“He was actually able to move to a rehabilitation center this afternoon so he’s getting settled into there, but we’re very encouraged by that,” he said. “It’s clearly a positive thing that he’s able to move from the hospital to that setting and know that they’ll work on getting some strength and things and transition him home to recover.”

Dean’s sister, Penny Bowen had nothing but kind words for the Hartselle community that showed their support during this vigil.

“This is just overwhelming to see the support for my brother from the city of Hartselle from all the officers and all the citizens. And I just want to thank everybody on behalf of my brother and our family for coming out and supporting him in the community that he loves with all his heart.”

To donate to Officer Dean’s GoFundMe campaign, you can follow the link to the page here.