The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) on Thursday afternoon announced that two ABPP law enforcement officers were fired upon earlier in the day as they approached a Bessemer home to conduct a supervisory visit with an offender.

A release advised that Officer in Charge Sidney Yarbrough and Officer Steven Motley, both assigned to the bureau’s Bessemer field office, were not injured in the incident.

ABPP officers make home visits to their clients as part of the process of supervising offenders’ transition back into the community after criminal convictions.

Officers Yarbrough and Motley reportedly approached a building next to the Bessemer home Thursday morning on a regular home visit when they were reportedly fired upon from inside the building. The officers then took cover and called for backup to help bring the situation under control.

Other ABPP officers in the area converged on the scene, along with officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

Probationer Terry Easter was arrested on a probation violation after the incident. Other charges are pending completion of an investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

“Officers of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles put their lives on the line every day working to help keep communities all across the state safe,” ABPP Director Charlie Graddick said in a statement.

“Our officers are courageous and dedicated to public safety, and our state is a better place because of their work. We are so grateful that Officers Yarbrough and Motley were not hurt, and we are grateful for the assistance of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and our other parole and probation officers on the scene,” he concluded.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn