Vincent Witt and his sister, Tareya, Chief Jones tried to intimidate her in a social media message, Police in this tiny Alabama town suck drivers into legal black hole, Pastor, sister say rogue Alabama police force sought revenge, This Alabama county fastens ankle monitors on hundreds who arent convicted of crimes, Life on an ankle monitor in Alabama: $10 a day and inevitable imperfections, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Related: Pastor, sister say rogue police force sought revenge. Brookside has 1,253 people, according to the most recent census. I quit Brookside once he came back, she said. A former judge appointed to investigate claims of police abuses in the tiny Alabama town of Brookside, just north of Birmingham, has found a pattern of bullying that preyed on the poor and. She vividly recalls the events of that night and the following day. Brookside Police Department in Brookside, Alabama, get driving directions from your location, Birmingham Police Department - North Precinct, Department Of Public Safety Highway Patrol Post - Birmingham, Jefferson County Pistol Permits & Gun Licenses, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Most Wanted Sex Offenders, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Offender Search, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Website, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Website (Alabama), Brookside public safety & filing complaints, Brookside Police Department jobs and employment. Kimberlee Hudgens was a dispatcher at the Brookside Police Department at the time of Savelles Hoover arrest. she added. Police stacked fines on them, often towed their cars and generated revenue that went right back into the police department. The town could benefit from a formal complaint procedure to provide real time information on alleged racial profiling incidents or incidents of alleged misbehavior of any kind -- at the individual officer level. The conclusion reads: We conclude our report by recommending that new Brookside Police Department leadership adopt specific policies aimed at targeting its law enforcement efforts in more strategic ways. You may not use this site for the purposes of furnishing consumer reports about search subjects or for any use prohibited by the FCRA. The AGs office this week would not confirm or deny to AL.com the existence of any case involving Brookside. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The police have ordered vehicles towed for lack of insurance, while ignoring owners' efforts to show insurance documentation. Across the country, the average size of a force is one officer for every 588 residents, according to a Governing Magazine study that examined federal statistics. The charges against Savelle were misdemeanors, meaning they wouldnt necessarily disqualify him from being certified as a police officer in Alabama, even if he had been convicted. Read more stories from our Banking on Crime series: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. And its not an idle threat. It claims those involved violated the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Hobbs Act which makes it illegal to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery or extortion. Please keep your posts factual and post links to reliable sources. Sheriff Pettway gaped at the Brookside ratio. Jones and Bryan said neither the town nor the police department relies on the revenue officers bring in. August 18, 2015 Aerial Videography of Brookside, Alabama Trails Five Mile Creek on the Alabama Birding Trail September 24, 2014 Brookside walkng trail has been added to the Appalchian Highlands Birding Trail web site! Periodic review of bodycam video can be used to monitor and investigate possible profiling or other alleged misconduct. Jones was stopped on April 12 by a Covington County deputy after being clocked driving 78 mph in a 55 zone on Alabama 55 south. Stories of how Alabama legal systems criminalize poverty. And local court officials have thrown out or called into question more than 100 cases involving Brookside police. Model policies and procedures adopted in many places around the country provide a new standard of professionalism for law enforcement organizations. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer. Disparities in the rate at which drivers were stopped do not appear to be significantly different from the rate in which drivers racial and ethnic groups populate 4 Jefferson County. Yet Savelle was right-hand man to then-Brookside Chief Mike Jones, and since Jones was out of town during the arrest, Savelle served as acting chief when Hoover police approached him at Dave & Busters. I cant stand them., In a statement today, Turman said In this case, we had a young deputy that was trying to be respectful to a supposed veteran officer and gave him a break. That contributed a 14% chunk of the citys total income, a number that would be considered high in much of America. Jones lawyer, Bryan, did not return calls today. Over the last several months, the Brookside Police Department has faced scrutiny over its ticketing practices, as well as alleged corruption. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. Brumlow pleaded not guilty, and had to go to court over and over again as the case was postponed. Police Trap, she posted in June of 2019. One, by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur would force cities to make the amount of fines and fees they collect public. The problem for those alleging misconduct is that officers may be immune from lawsuits if their actions are found to be a part of their official duties, Dawson said. Tiny Brookside's style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. Johnson, though it is unclear if Brookside had a Detective Johnson. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The real trouble for Michelle Jones began as she started posting on her Facebook page when she saw Brookside police stopping people in places she thought were out of bounds. The police in the city of Brookside basically created their own policing system and for years have been able to get away with it and as the report says they endangered the lives of citizens and they should be held accountable for it, Givan said. Brookside Police Department leadership cast its enforcement dragnet too widely: Special Report on Brookside PD released, 2 adults, 1 juvenile charged in Kimberly kidnapping case, Cat, missing for 2 years, found nearly 1,600 miles away, police say, More parents choosing alternate education. Monday afternoon former Birmingham Police Officer Montague Minnifield became at least the eighth person to sue Brookside over its police and court systems. Address, Phone Number, and Fax Number for Brookside Police Department, a Police Department, at Main Street, Brookside AL. Tiny Brooksides style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. Defendants must pay thousands in fines and fees or pay for costly appeals to state court and poorer residents or passersby fall into patterns of debt they cannot easily escape. Brookside has operated its police and court system with the primary objective of obtaining revenue from motorists traveling on or near Interstate-22, Harris lawyers wrote in a suit filed last year. "It's the wild, Wild West, and they created their own wild, Wild West.". [Montgomery, Alabama] Former Brookside Police Chief Dennis Ray McCoy, 53, of Dora, was recently convicted of several charges stemming from investigation by the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), including using his official position for personal gain, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, obtaining criminal offender record information under false pretenses, and computer tampering. Video above: Federal class action lawsuit filed against Town of Brookside, police officers Advertisement Chief Jones testified under oath that just one of the 10 Brookside vehicles is painted with police striping, but nine others bear no emblems, and seven are tinted all the way around, making it impossible to see inside. They were doing the same thing to every person that was there. And the police chief has called for more. The The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts released an audit into Brookside in the Spring of 2022. A Hoover officer wrote that Savelle had his Brookside badge and a gun in his pocket, though he initially lied about being armed when asked by officers.. All Rights Reserved. I clearly did not run the stop sign as I had just seen them sitting on top of I-22 overpass. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. In a sworn deposition in the civil suit Jeff Brumlow said he went to court three times before the case was ultimately dropped, and saw many people hed guess 25 to 30% of all defendants charged with the dubious left lane violation. They were shining these flashlights in my car and it was daylight. Roger McCondichie, the late mayor of Brookside, at the time called Jones company woes personal business and defended the hiring by saying Jones was certified and had all the credentials. Her lawyers argue that the city uses obscure possible violations to justify stopping and searching passersby, hoping to add more offenses in a sort of highway lottery to fill the coffers. State Representative Juandalynn Givan isnt surprised by the report. She argued that she only drove in the left lane to pass other vehicles, and her ticket on May 26, 2019 came five months before Alabamas Anti-Road Rage Act, a law making it illegal to drive in the left lane of an interstate for more than a mile and a half, went into effect. Brookside police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. A Brookside officer ticketed Brumlow under Alabama code section 32-5-77, which her lawyers contend does not contain a crime. More than half the Brookside officers resigned or were fired this year as more and more people came forward to tell their stories about mistreatment in Brookside. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. He and members of the town council complained of. Careful examination of individual officer behavior is also important. During his time as a council member, Mike Bryan voted for and helped to pass ordinances strengthening the Brookside Police Department in addition to passing city budgets with revenues increasing over 600%, she said. The officers, though many, were not well paid. What I had watched in court with the use of this particular charge, I mean, just to be quite frank, it offended me that a court would act that way and that a city would act that way toward people who really dont have that kind of money, he testified. Ramon Perez showed up for court in December ready to fight traffic citations he got in Brookside. WBRC FOX6 News has reached out to the Town of Brookside leaders for a response to the special report, and we will update this story when we receive a response. "Even if you legitimately stop someone because they need a light on their car fixed, if you give them a ticket, how does that meet the goal that a person's car be made safer?" 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. We dont like writing tickets.. Do you understand what you are charged with? the judge asked on that first Thursday in December. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the police department that serves the area, where Mike Hale is the sheriff. Brookside, Alabama, a former mining community of about 1,250 with a median household income less than $40,000, has no traffic lights and only a handful of two-lane roads, yet it raked in so much revenue from traffic fines and forfeitures in 2020, it amounted to almost half of its $1.2 million municipal budget. Most of the time people get stopped, theyre going to get a ticket. They would not share the footage. "Ferguson made us realize it wasn't just Ferguson," said Priya Sarathy Jones, the national campaign director at the Fines and Fees Justice Center,which advocates for fees to be eliminated in the justice system and fines to be equitably enforced. Mr. Bryan, as un-involved as he sounds, is as culpable as the others.. Givan is still pushing for change in Brookside and says those responsible should be held accountable. It has had a continued practice of stopping and ticketing scores of vehicles daily, doing so without probable cause or reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.. Mayor Bryan dismissed the complaints of those who must appear in court. Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. Such an appearance is created when a vastly disproportionate number of citations are issued given the towns population, and a high number of citations involve minor mechanical and traffic offenses. Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway said the same. AL.com in January reported how Brookside used fines and forfeitures to bring in almost half the town revenue in 2020, and how its police department grew exponentially under Chief Jones. At Brookside municipal court, the courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Most of the vehicles Brookside Police drive are unmarked, and tinted. He said hed like to see even more growth in revenue from fines and forfeitures. He said police accused him of running a stop sign that I never did run, and he complained about it on Facebook. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. He was very upset about what happened, she said. She insists like many others stopped by Brookside police that she did not run the stop sign at all. Brookside Police Department of Brookside, AL spotted in the Jefferson County Sheriff Department District at Roberta Road and Cherry Avenue., And in July, Brookside Police Department of Brookside, AL operating outside its city limits. Perez ultimately decided to pay the $1,100 fine on top of hundreds hed already spent to get his towed car back and get the heck out of Brookside. Brookside Police Department is in the Police1 Law Enforcement Directory. Police Chief Mike Jones has since resigned, Lt. Gov. The police wont do anything, Savelle is quoted in the report as saying. From 2018 to 2020, spending on police rose from $79,000 to $524,000, a 560% increase. The officer went on to say any more backlash like that towards his police department and itll be far worse than a ticket., I just stared at him, the man said. The accounts told to AL.com detail harassment and intimidation. A report quoted in the suit claimed she tighten (sic) arm muscles from getting handcuff (sic).. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. In January of 2014 Savelle was arrested in Shelby County a county south of Birmingham that includes Helena on charges of public intoxication, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show. "Their whole financial existence starts to spiral, and it was all over a light on their car not working.". It is unclear whether the resignations were forced, or if the officers chose to leave on their own, or a mixture of both. In his call to Jones this week, the investigator said he could not tell me anything because of the ongoing investigation, Jones said. Outside the jail this morning, the lawyer told Blaine Wilson of WAAO News in Andalusia that Jones is innocent and he will prove it in court. Read more stories from our Banking on Crime series: Updated 10/10/22 to say the woman accosted at Dave & Busters did wish to press charges. The chief of police at a northern Jefferson County police department resigned on Tuesday. Brookside Police Department. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. However, an initial review of the complaint reveals that any allegations of conspiracy are false and without merit and the Town vehemently denies such allegations.. The deputy has since also issued a speeding ticket to go along with the impersonation charge.. (Photographerlondon / Dreamstime.com) Brookside, Alabama, has a population of less than 1,500 people. All rights reserved (About Us). Brookside, which in 2018 had one full time police officer, now parks a riot control vehicle townspeople call it a tank outside the municipal complex and community center. The town also expanded its towing operations, going from 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020. Bill Dawson, a lawyer in Birmingham, said he's had about two dozen people contact him with allegations, but for years, many have been too reluctant to complain. Brookside, just north of Birmingham, already faces at least 10 lawsuits about its policing. Jones is not alone in complaining about Brookside. soon after reports of the small towns aggressive policing, AL.com detailed how the department preyed on drivers. Alabama Senate candidate Lisa Ward said ex-Chief Jones tried to intimidate her in a social media message after she shared the AL.com story on Facebook. She called for the second town hall meeting this week.. Givan and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway held the first town hall, in which 200 people gathered and 31 told stories of harassment and abuse. When Jones was hired as chief in 2018, he was the only full-time police officer, he said in sworn testimony for a lawsuit filed against him and the city. The town announced his departure in a statement, but would not comment further. originally filed on behalf of Cory Thomas, AL.com in January reported how Brookside used fines and forfeitures, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. The Town of Brookside participates in the affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, it says. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. She agrees that there was selective enforcement. Read more stories from our Banking on Crime series: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Michelle Jones made an official complaint to the Alabama Attorneys Generals office three years ago, arguing that Brookside police stopped her out of jurisdiction, issued a bogus citation and threatened her with more charges after she criticized them on Facebook. McDonald, the towns first dispatcher, said he too found Bryans statement lacking. Arrests on Brookside warrants went from zero to 243 in the span of two years, according to statistics Chief Jones presented to the council. The Brookside Police Department is located on Municipal Drive, and the Chief of Police is Jason Springfield. She complained directly to then-Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones. He is still torn, wondering if he should have fought the town harder. Please keep it more-or-less civil. Which is exactly what the town is banking on, according to those who have watched Brookside grow into one of Alabamas biggest, most troublesome traffic traps. Brookside, Alabama, a former mining community of about 1,250 with a median household income less than $40,000, has no traffic lights and only a handful of two-lane roads, yet it raked in so. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) -The town of Brookside is facing another lawsuit. But if you want real justice, I think youll go through the process. Officials from the examiners office were believed to visit Brookside last week. And it broke her heart, it broke my heart.. Will Ainsworth want to know how such a department could have existed. Officer Deshawn Mark Cook, who worked in Brookside as recently as Thursday, was arrested Friday on charges of first degree rape stemming from 2021. This is shocking, said Crowder. He swore hed seen the cop from a distance and was careful as he braked. Despite that, the Shelby County case was dropped without explanation under the condition that he pay $100. Ultimately another officer took Perez to his friends house to retrieve her ID, he said. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer. Savelle was 32 at the time of his Hoover arrest, and was shown to have previous arrests for public intoxication, DUI, public lewdness, as well as multiple drug charges, the Hoover report said. So it was a bit of a moral outrage because I had sat in court three times now and it was no longer a mistake., This was an intentional policy of the city and my niece just happened to get caught up in it and happened to challenge it. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. The Town of Brookside forced Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff classes to give up their property and pay illegal fines through fear, intimidation, and under color of official right by imposing fines not authorized by law, seizing property without the legal right to do soand by threat of jail time unless illegal fines were paid or property unlawfully forfeited, the suit says. I cant stand a dirty cop, Sheriff Turman told AL.com. Five others resigned Jan. 28, and Jones second-in-command, former Lt. James Bo Savelle III, resigned Jan. 31, resigned after questions about his past. They had blinders on. Savelle was second in command at Brookside, which came under fire two weeks ago when an AL.com story revealed a department so intent on ticketing and criminalizing motorists that by 2020 it came to draw half the towns revenue from fines and forfeitures. She thought the complaint was long forgotten or closed. In fact, they said in November they didnt know how that money is spent. Brumlows uncle, Jeff Brumlow, is the longtime prosecutor and city attorney for the city of Alabaster, and a GOP candidate for Shelby County district judge. For most of the past decade it saw little crimeonly 55 . "There is no coming back from this. And so thats why I decided to fight.. He feels the police saw him as prey, and treated him as such. In 2020, she had explained her case this way to the AGs office: The person threatened me with an arrest if I did not take down my Facebook pictures and posts of their police officers, stop sending emails to the local politicians, as well as others, and show them (Brookside police) that I understand law enforcement practices.. "Brookside will continue to cooperate with all appropriate authorities to ensure that a full investigation of these issues are completed," he said. But Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared after that, and the towns law-enforcement goals and its reputation changed. Fewer than 100 of its residents graduated college. In another case, Brookside police last year confiscated a 2014 Honda Civic owned by a man named Sean Wattson, even though Wattson was not driving and was not in the car, according to a lawsuit he filed against the town. He built the department from a one-man operation to a ticket-hungry department with 10 blacked-out. called for a financial audit by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, Mike Bryan has called for Brookside police to stop patrolling Interstate 22, State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, who represents the area surrounding Brookside, has called for the resignation of Bryan, Municipal Judge Jim Wooten and City Attorney/Prosecutor Mark Parnell, Givan and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway want to hear more, and will hold a town hall meeting, Police in this tiny Alabama town suck drivers into legal black hole, Pastor, sister say rogue Alabama police force sought revenge, This Alabama county fastens ankle monitors on hundreds who arent convicted of crimes, Life on an ankle monitor in Alabama: $10 a day and inevitable imperfections, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. As more tickets brought in more money, the town began to spend much more. Jones was the highest earning officer before his resignation, at $16 an hour, not counting overtime. Some of the charges Savelle has faced predate his hiring at Brookside. Police stops soared between 2018 and 2020. Leadership should be aware that large-scale statistical analyses are inherently untimely and mask individual behavior. Allan Armstrong, one of a group of lawyers who filed the complaint, said Brookside violated basic American rights. At least three bills are now before the Legislature that would affect those cities. Since this involves a personnel matter, the Town has no further comment. Its unheard of.. It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. People stopped by Brookside police more than a mile and half outside the town limits. All they do is take peoples rights. The citizens of this state and those traveling through this state should enjoy the opportunity to freely access our roadways, he said. The curious case of the financial income of the town, on the outskirts of Birmingham, exploded into a scandal following a local news report on AL.com last week. held the first town hall, in which 200 people gathered, Police in this tiny Alabama town suck drivers into legal black hole, Pastor, sister say rogue Alabama police force sought revenge, This Alabama county fastens ankle monitors on hundreds who arent convicted of crimes, Life on an ankle monitor in Alabama: $10 a day and inevitable imperfections, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Fairness and real justice, I believe, is something people are looking for when it comes to law enforcement. 2711 Municipal Dr. Brookside, AL 35036. Find 6 Police Departments within 8.3 miles of Brookside Police Department. Like those on Dec. 2. He was very ugly from the start.. The office of state Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, declined to comment Friday about the traffic stops in Brookside. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Over 200 people packed into the new Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Facility building to voice their complaints about aggressive policing by the Brookside Police Dept. But he also worries for relatives and employees who live in Brookside. 43 Brookside should consider such a policy. in the wake of news coverage about the arrest. I know that.. Mike Jones, former police chief in the troubled Alabama town of Brookside, was arrested today on felony charges of impersonating a peace officer during a traffic stop in south Alabama.. What happens is when it gets to be so egregious, when you go a little bit too far and you take it to an extreme as the city of Brookside did, it just wasnt about selective enforcement, it becomes routine, Givan said. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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