Time after time they say they were pulled over by multiple officers in multiple vehicles for minor charges such as expired tag or following too closely, that they were searched, towed, and forced to pay large fines for violations many say they did not commit. Unsure what was happening, Harris dialed 911. 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. It showed police in 2020 patrolled 114,438 miles in the 6.3-mile town and issued more than 3,000 citations - a 692% increase. She set out to challenge it. Brookside until recently was known for its quirky Russian food festival and the states only onion-domed Russian Orthodox Church. In a two-year period after Jones hiring, income from fines and forfeitures rose more than 600 percent, and that money made up 49 percent of the towns income. He built the department from a one-man operation to a ticket-hungry department with 10 blacked-out. 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.. Brookside has two drug-sniffing dogs one named K9 Cash to search the cars of stopped motorists. For most of the past decade it saw little crimeonly 55 . But not in the courtroom. The military-styled vehicles have already been returned to the State, our police cars have been re-striped, and the Town is investing in new, easily identifiable uniforms for the police officers., Civil RICO case filed again by John Archibald. she said. "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. 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. And theyre saying they were nowhere near 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. The office of state Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, declined to comment Friday about the traffic stops in Brookside. Brookside is a poster child for policing for profit, said Carla Crowder, the director of Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, a nonprofit devoted to justice and equity. He is still torn, wondering if he should have fought the town harder. A police department in Brookside, Alabama, is facing allegations of policing for profit and defamation lawsuits after residents say they've received bogus charges. Privacy Policy Alabama state rep. calls for Brookside mayor's resignation amid ticketing scandal, told the NBC affiliate WVTM in Birmingham, wake of the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, Attorney describes 'debtors' prison' scheme targeting poor minorities. McDonald, the towns first dispatcher, said he too found Bryans statement lacking. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigns Jan. 25, 2022. State agencies have since launched audits and investigations of police there, and officials such as Alabama Lt. Gov. Wattson claims he was unaware of the drugs. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. She pulled to the side of the road as the SUV pulled behind her, and a wrecker simultaneously parked nearby. . BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - A special report regarding racial profiling in the Town of Brooksides Traffic Enforcement Program was released by the city-appointed investigator, former Circuit Court Judge Ken Simon. The town also provided a set of police stats Jones presented to the Brookside council to push for more resources and authority. The primary function of the Police Department is deterring crime, stopping crimes in progress, investigating crimes, and serving as first responders for emergencies and situations that threaten public safety. They are sworn Law Enforcement Officers certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards Training (sic) Commission. When he got to court Dec. 2, he saw scores of people just like him lining up to stand before Judge Jim Wooten, complaining of penny-ante crimes and harassment by officers. Arrests on Brookside warrants went from zero to 243 in the span of two years, according to statistics Chief Jones presented to the council. Will Ainsworth requested a state audit, and amid calls for state and federal investigations. Officer Deshawn Mark Cook, who worked in Brookside as recently as Thursday, was arrested Friday on charges of first degree rape stemming from 2021. All rights reserved (About Us). Still, police seized his car, and refused to return it, though they didnt begin official forfeiture proceedings. 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. She is unsure if he called the man. Jones, accompanied by his lawyer, Corey Bryan of Andalusia, turned himself in at the Covington County Jail on Monday, Covington County Sheriff Blake Turman said. Givan said this time she especially wants to hear from women. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. He stated that I issued threats, incited a riot, and slandered the Brookside Police Department in my Facebook posts. An audit by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts last week issued a report citing Brookside for myriad errors, including poor financial controls, missing guns and guns with no explanation. Additional Information. The news outlet found that Jones positioned officers to stop motorists so aggressively that income from traffic fines and forfeitures rose 640 percent from 2018 to 2020, from about $82,000 to more than $610,000. EOG was set up to provide security services for athletic events and other gatherings. A department of nine officers in a 1,253-person town is far larger than average. "This city is a ticking, ticking time bomb waiting to explode," state Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who has called for other town officials to resign, told the NBC affiliate WVTM in Birmingham. I see a 600% increase thats a failure. I think it could be more.. And while sitting in court I heard that half the court was also stopped for the same thing.. 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. Jones resigned January 25th, six days after AL.com published a story outlining Brookside policing and a court system that collected 49 percent of the towns 2020 revenue from fines and forfeitures, a practice lambasted by residents, drivers, top law enforcement officials and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Audits by Philip Morgan & Co., covering at least five consecutive years, pointed out as a shortcoming that the town did not have a budget or a policy of adopting one annually. 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.. Bryan served as president pro tem of the council for years, and performed the duties of mayor during the long illness of his predecessor. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Stephanie Franklin, a Jefferson County employee, told AL.com she was a passenger in a car stopped last year for an expired tag. Brookside police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. He saw so many people trying to park in the grassy field outside the municipal building that police had to direct traffic. Seven Brookside police officers have resigned since details of the towns aggressive policing strategy gained national attention in January. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. The accounts told to AL.com detail harassment and intimidation. We dont like writing tickets.. Lawyers for eight people who say they were wronged by Brookside police on Wednesday filed an amended complaint in Alabama, arguing the town, the towing company it used to seize vehicles, and 23 current and former police officers conspired to take money and property from drivers. The growth has come with trouble to match. It frightened her, and led to more trouble. Hudgens told Jones about the call and gave him the mans contact information. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Mayor Bryan said he inherited a bad situation when he took over as mayor in November, and was fooled by Jones. He feels the police saw him as prey, and treated him as such. Do you understand what you are charged with? the judge asked on that first Thursday in December. Jones again as Mayor Bryan nodded said the goal of the department is only to help people. 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. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Then this month the Brookside department posted on Facebook that it had hired six more officers in an effort to expand our dedication and commitment to provide superior community service & protection.. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. Dedicated to documenting the apparent corruption of the Town and Police of Brookside, Alabama. BROOKSIDE, Ala. After a tumultuous few weeks for the city of Brookside, including the resignation of police Chief Mike Jones, more allegations were brought to light against the city's police department on Thursday. Drivers, both in responding to the stories and in a town hall held last week to address police and court concerns, have complained of bullying, intimidation, detention, retribution, threats, racial profiling, and charges made up of whole cloth to stack fines on drivers, among other things. Givan is still pushing for change in Brookside and says those responsible should be held accountable. He said hed like to see even more growth in revenue from fines and forfeitures. Jones was a Helena police officer and president of the city council in the Shelby County town until late 2018 when, as ABC 33/40s Cynthia Gould reported at the time, he stopped coming to meetings without explanation while his personal security business ran into trouble. It did not feature a breakout of the police department. Leadership at every level of government is required to make our cities and towns safer. Because I am a police officer.. This is the statement from the Town of Brookside: Mike Jones resigned as the Police Chief for the Town of Brookside. In addition, the police charged her with making a false 911 call, obstructing government operations by refusing to give proper papers, and disorderly conduct for yelling for others to come out of their homes. Find Arrest Records, Police Records, and Warrants related to Brookside Police Department. 205-674-9275. And its not an idle threat. Hoover police arrested Savelle for public intoxication and two counts of harassment that night, saying he was intoxicated to the point of being a danger to himself and to others. The woman told police she did wish to press charges. Scott Shackford | 1.19.2022 1:20 PM. He said police accused him of running a stop sign that I never did run, and he complained about it on Facebook. Mayor Bryan dismissed the complaints of those who must appear in court. The special report concludes with six recommendations for Brookside leaders and the Brookside Police Department. 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. Fairness and real justice, I believe, is something people are looking for when it comes to law enforcement. It went from towing 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020 each carrying fines. "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?" Vincent Witt and his sister, Tareya, who said the small police department fabricated charges against them and listed them as fugitives because Witt complained about an officers racist remark. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. Brookside's police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. The officers, though many, were not well paid. Michelle Jones said she has had friends, acquaintances and family members stopped in Brookside. I was working that night and I received a phone call from the Hoover police chief, she said. BROOKSIDE, Ala. ( WIAT) On Thursday night, Alabama Rep. Juandalynn Givan will hold another town hall meeting as she works to take action against alleged illegal ticketing that has taken place in the Brookside Police Department. A judge set Halls fines at $6,000, and he had to post $12,000 bond while he appealed the case, an amount Weinberg considered excessive, and one that would prevent defendants without money or support from arguing their cases in state court. We encourage Brookside to form more partnerships with local, state and federal authorities to fully take back the town. In the second town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Juandalynn Givan and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway, attendees addressed more concerns with the city's police. John Walker was stopped in Brookside for following too closely. Asked why that was the case, Bryan responded there had been an error, that the heading for the Municipal Court Fund was actually the police department budget. Brookside has 1,253 people, according to the most recent census. In a two-year period between 2018 and 2020 Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared more than 640 percent and now make up half the citys total income. All rights reserved (About Us). Brookside officers have been accused in lawsuits of fabricating charges, using racist language and making up laws to stack counts on passersby. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, originally filed on behalf of Cory Thomas, are Thomas; Tinetta Jackson; Keyarah Smith; Ben Blackwell; James Donahue; Gerald Smith; Brittany Todd; and Zachary Harris. Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, talks to reporters about reports of police abuses in the town of Brookside, which is in her Jefferson County district. There were two cars and one SUV that surrounded my car and police were everywhere, she wrote. Police charged Harris with flickering her lights or nuisance of casting lights from motor vehicle on real property at night, which she argues did not happen and eventually was dropped. About Us Contact Us The Brookside Police Department, located in Brookside, Alabama is a law enforcement agency that has been granted specific police powers in Jefferson County. They had blinders on. I just know that the police departments not gonna be able to come back from this, she 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. He built the department from a one-man operation to a ticket-hungry department with 10 blacked-out vehicles, two drug-sniffing dogs and a riot control vehicle. Jones testified his officers wear gray uniforms with no Brookside insignias. Please keep it more-or-less civil. The lowest-paid officers made $12 an hour. Type: This is at the corner of Roberta Road and Mulberry Road, which is far away from their city limits.. One of those visions: increasing officer pay to $18 per hour with better benefits in order . Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. Hudgens, who lives in Brookside, said she is concerned for her town. He said response times were long because Brookside often had to rely on the Jefferson County Sheriffs department for service. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Find agency contact, demographics, type, population served and more. He resigned as chief of the Brookside department last week, days after AL.coms original report on Brookside. Will Ainsworth want to know how such a department could have existed. All they do is take peoples rights. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By 2020 officers in the sleepy town were undergoing SWAT training and dressing in riot gear, even as the city continued with only a volunteer fire department. But Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared after that, and the towns law-enforcement goals and its reputation changed. Second, the town would likely benefit from a relationship with a research organization to provide annual information on the existence of any red flags detected in statistical trends and patterns. I saw him and we looked eye to eye, the Chelsea business owner said. First, it should avoid racial profiling and selective enforcement. Thats 49% of the small towns skyrocketing revenue. At least eight officers, including Jones, have resigned or been let go since. You cant do whats going on over there.. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. See also: Savelle among those sued by preacher who claimed Brookside revenge. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. The man is still afraid of retaliation, and asked for anonymity. 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. There are only 1,253 people in Brookside, and one store, the Dollar General. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT) As the Brookside Police Department debacle continues, the call for Mayor Mike Bryan and other leaders to resign still rings among those who have been victims by the city's officers. Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham has demanded the resignations of Bryan, Brookside City Attorney Mark Parnell and Municipal Judge Jim Wooten. The town's median household income is less than $40,000, according to demographic data. He had a net worth of $55,000 and a monthly income of $2,244, according to federal records. Tiny Brooksides style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. 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.. She insists like many others stopped by Brookside police that she did not run the stop sign at all. That meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow Lane. Ive seen it, DA Carr said. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. She had an asthma attack and a panic attack, but when she knocked on the door to alert a guard, a jailer said if she continued to knock she would be charged with attempting to escape. Brumlow pleaded not guilty, and had to go to court over and over again as the case was postponed. The complaint alleges numerous constitutional violations, and we believe the citizens need to be protected from illegal actions by the Town of Brookside.. His statement said he is not taking questions. In 2018, reporters for ABC 33/40 said they asked the former mayor of Brookside about Jones financial problems when he was hired. Everybodys got a story, he said. 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 issue gained prominence in the wake of the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri, when a report by a St. Louis-area public defender group found that Black drivers in Ferguson were more likely to be stopped by police and local courts were abusing their power by charging high fines and fees for nonviolent offenses, sometimes leading to arrests when they went unpaid. He was drunk and disorderly and harassed a married couple, according to a Hoover offense report. He was very ugly from the start.. 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. Jones built Brooksides police department from a sleepy, one-man agency to an intimidating force of 14 between 2018 and this year. It was nearing dusk, and as she drove into the neighborhood she didnt think much about the unmarked black SUV with tinted windows on the side of the road. No one can objectively look at this and conclude this is good government that is keeping us safer.. Sorry for the typo, the mayor wrote. 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. Detective Johnson had called and asked that I come to the Brookside Police Department to talk to them. Dawson also represents Victoria Brumlow, a young woman who like hundreds more was stopped on I-22 and ticketed for driving on the left lane of the interstate. The town announced his departure in a statement, but would not comment further. Nationally, the average size of a force is one officer for every 588 residents, according to a Governing Magazine study that relied on federal statistics. I have never been in any trouble only had one speeding ticket. Stories of how Alabama legal systems criminalize poverty. Citizen and officer safety, and protection of constitutional rights, should be among the prime goals of such training. (Photographerlondon / Dreamstime.com) Brookside, Alabama, has a population of less than 1,500 people. She fought it instead. 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. His car was towed with apologies from the tow-truck driver costing him several hundred dollars. I was just looking at him like, so this is what this stop is about?. Oftentimes, a person's decision to forgo paying a fine goes deeper, Sarathy Jones said. Over-policing can also create the perception of racial profiling when it appears to target minority citizens. I should have brought a lawyer, but right now my time is not there, he said. A Peace Officer sworn in the State of Alabama can enforce the law anywhere in the State of Alabama, he wrote in an email. State agents last week began an inquiry and audit into the Brookside Police Department to find out whether it and its officers complied with state laws and regulations, according to a statement from Chief R. Alan Benefield, executive secretary of the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Turman said it critical to hold officers to a high standard. 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. A third calls for guidelines on how cities and towns handle municipal courts. 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. The caller identified himself as a Det. The Alabama Legislature this session passed a bill in response to Brookside that would cap at 10 percent the amount of revenue from fines and fees that a municipality can take in. The chief of police at a northern Jefferson County police department resigned on Tuesday. Before the hiring blitz, Brookside's one full-time officer and several part-timers patrolled the city and its stretch of Interstate 22, writing tickets worth about $82,467 in fines. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. I just knew that I did not want to be part of a workplace that did such low-down things.. "Their whole financial existence starts to spiral, and it was all over a light on their car not working.". I dont condone it, but you know, Im not the chief out there.. APOST oversees police certification in Alabama. requested an audit of Brooksides town and police force, have called for bills to help curb small-town policing, sometimes appropriated by white supremacists, in the case of Rev. Its a former mining town, its population about the same as it was a decade ago. Jones blamed the lawsuits on ambulance-chasing attorneys.. If you had more officers and more productivity youd have more, Jones said. We had no knowledge of Mike Jones whereabouts after his resignation January 25, Mayor Mike Bryan said. A Brookside officer ticketed Brumlow under Alabama code section 32-5-77, which her lawyers contend does not contain a crime. Another town hall is scheduled for Thursday at 6 pm at Birminghams Carver High School. Months of research and dozens of interviews by AL.com found that Brooksides finances are rocket-fueled by tickets and aggressive policing. Language and making up laws to stack counts on passersby many, not! Town and police of Brookside, said he inherited a bad situation when he took over mayor! There.. APOST oversees police certification in Alabama 33/40 said they asked the former mayor of,. 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