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. I quit Brookside once he came back, she said. The BPD has managed to double the impoverished town's total income from 2018 to 2020 as a result of its 640% increase in fines and forfeitures. The goals should include elevating professionalism at each level of law enforcement and civilian oversight. Please keep your posts factual and post links to reliable sources. I just knew that I did not want to be part of a workplace that did such low-down things.. The transformation of Brookside's police department began in 2018, under the direction of long-serving and now late Mayor Roger McCondichie. 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 from 2018. The police wont do anything, Savelle is quoted in the report as saying. He was charged with misdemeanor possession, but also five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, for: The names of the officers were not listed on the tickets in secretive Brookside. Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigns Jan. 25, 2022. Perez is angry at his treatment. He was very upset about what happened, she said. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Brumlow pleaded not guilty, and had to go to court over and over again as the case was postponed. Then-Council member Bryan was there each time the police department reported their revenues to them during council meetings. Detective Johnson had called and asked that I come to the Brookside Police Department to talk to them. A police department in Brookside, Alabama, is facing allegations of policing for profit and defamation lawsuits after residents say they've received bogus charges. He said hed like to see even more growth in revenue from fines and forfeitures. "The Town of Brookside is committed to reforming our police department and setting a new standard for community policing in Brookside and Alabama," says Bryan. Related: Pastor, sister say rogue police force sought revenge. People who were detained by Brookside officers beyond a traffic stop. He resigned Jan. 25, six days after AL.com detailed how the department preyed on drivers, and came to use fines and forfeitures to supply half the tiny towns income. 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 police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. All they do is take peoples rights. And 99% of them are lying.. 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. It may cost some money to go through that process, he said. Sheriff Pettway said those who face charges in Brookside and want to ensure justice can get a bond and appeal their case. Another would bar police from using unmarked cars for traffic stops. He has not commented since. Savelle was in the program for up-and-coming police officers in Helena, while Mike Jones was a patrol officer there, he said. It is what happened after the stop that is most concerning to him. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The complaint seeks to establish four separate sub classes: Lawyers for the plaintiffs want, among other things, all fines and convictions voided and seized property returned. "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. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. I saw the same attitude in every officer and every person, he said. He was cited for driving with a suspended license a matter he thought hed cleared up but he doesnt blame Brookside for that. The release said the town has no further comment on Jones's resignation since it involves a "personnel matter." 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 6 Police Departments within 8.3 miles of Brookside Police Department. 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. And its not an idle threat. See also: Savelle among those sued by preacher who claimed Brookside revenge. 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. "Their whole financial existence starts to spiral, and it was all over a light on their car not working.". 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. Jones could not be reached for comment on this report. 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. But he also worries for relatives and employees who live in Brookside. 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. We dont have a law that says if you dont have ID, you go to jail, he said. If you want to go out there and do something like that, you are creating a law., Perez said the officer went absolutely crazy over her lack of ID. 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. In a report published by AL.com, figures pointed to half of the town's revenue had come from an increase in fines and forfeitures, including officers taking property during traffic stops. BROOKSIDE, Ala. - For the first time since bombshell reports regarding practices from Brookside Police department surfaced, the City Council held their monthly meeting Monday night.During the meeting, Interim Police Chief Henry Irby addressed the public on his vision for the department going forward. They were infatuated with Mike (Jones) because he was doing all this good for Brookside and they couldnt see any of the bad.. Jones testified his officers wear gray uniforms with no Brookside insignias. 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. I clearly did not run the stop sign as I had just seen them sitting on top of I-22 overpass. Bill Dawson, a lawyer who has represented several clients in Brookside, said defendants have faced possession charges for a joint, with paraphernalia charges tacked on for the paper it was rolled in. Address, Phone Number, and Fax Number for Brookside Police Department, a Police Department, at Main Street, Brookside AL. They let her out of jail at midnight, long after her family had made bond. 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 material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The deputy gave him a professional courtesy verbal warning and sent him on his way. At Brookside municipal court, the courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. It did not feature a breakout of the police department. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. You may not use this site for the purposes of furnishing consumer reports about search subjects or for any use prohibited by the FCRA. Copyright 2022 WBRC. She spelled it out in her complaint to the AGs office and in notes to the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department, county commissioners and others. They own the town.. APOST oversees police certification in Alabama. 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. Its not about making a dollar, Jones said. 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. 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. Model policies and procedures adopted in many places around the country provide a new standard of professionalism for law enforcement organizations. Citizen and officer safety, and protection of constitutional rights, should be among the prime goals of such training. Brookside officers have been accused in lawsuits of fabricating charges, using racist language and making up laws to stack counts on passersby. Perform a free Brookside, AL public property records search, including property appraisals, unclaimed property, ownership searches, lookups, tax records, titles, deeds, and liens. Tiny Brookside's style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. 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. He saw so many people trying to park in the grassy field outside the municipal building that police had to direct traffic. Fewer than 100 of its residents graduated college. She was also charged with resisting arrest. 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). 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. In 2020 they came to $610,000. "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. She said she tried to record the interaction after three officers in two vehicles pulled her car over, but an officer with a valknot symbol a Norse sign sometimes appropriated by white supremacists on a ring and one of his gun clips confiscated her phone. After being pulled over on Interstate 22 for allegedly speeding in February 2021, Anyl Pascal was arrested by Brookside police and taken to jail. The Town of Brookside participates in the affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, it says. 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. He said the case remains active and under investigation, and he is trying to determine if the Chevy Tahoe that Jones was driving once belonged to the town of Brookside. But Savelle would not be fired. On the other end was a caller IDd as coming from the Brookside Town Hall, she said. 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. Sheriff Pettway gaped at the Brookside ratio. Brookside's police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. It ultimately became the reason Hudgens left her job. John Walker was stopped in Brookside for following too closely. 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. Dawson argued in a lawsuit against Brookside and Chief Jones that Brookside has continuously used the false left lane violation as a reason to stop and detain hundreds of motorists. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. The citizens of this state and those traveling through this state should enjoy the opportunity to freely access our roadways, he said. The growth has come with trouble to match. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Bryan served as president pro tem of the council for years, and performed the duties of mayor during the long illness of his predecessor.
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