The Selma Times-Journal

A nice, quiet person. That’s how his friends remember him.

Robert “Bobby” Jacobs, 53, of Valley Grande, passed away Wednesday, July 25. Serving 30 years as a law enforcement officer, Jacobs once served as interim police chief of the Selma Police Department.

“He was a great leader,” Selma Police Chief Jimmy Martin said. “He was very professional in his work. He took a lot of pride in what he did. My prayers go out to the family”

Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman also recalls working with Jacobs at the Selma Police Department and considered him a close friend.

“I’ve been knowing Bobby for probably 30 years,” Huffman said. “I worked with him when I worked in the police department back in the ’70s. He was a good guy. Our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of Bobby.”

According to Martin and Huffman, Jacobs had the opportunity to work with his father James, who was a sergeant at the SPD.

“He grew up in the Selma Police Department,” Huffman said of Jacobs. “He started out as a patrolman and worked his way up.”

Jacobs also served as Deputy Fire Marshall for the State of Alabama and was recently employed as a child support investigator for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Child Support Collections.

Circuit Clerk Cheryl Strong said she’d known Jacobs for years and considered him a friend.

“I’ve been knowing him a long time, even when he worked at the police department,” she said. “I was shocked (Thursday) morning

when I heard what had happened.”

Strong described Jacobs as a “quiet, to-himself person.”

“He will be missed,” she said.

Services for Jacobs will be Saturday, July 28, at 11 a.m. at Selma Funeral Home. Visitation will take place prior to services from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Selma Police Department will serve as honorary pallbearers.