Cars were towed for failure to show insurance, for not having a drivers license, and lawsuits now claim officers frequently ignored insurance paperwork as an excuse to tow cars. Katie Baggett moved to Brookside in December 2020. He rolled down his window and said, Im glad you havent needed me lately.. Find 6 Police Departments within 8.3 miles of Brookside Police Department. In 2018 total revenue for the town of Brookside was $586,000. In 2018 total revenue for the town of Brookside was $586,000. Chana Hodges handles billing at a mom-and-pop medical supply store in nearby Fultondale, Ala. She recounts a day in 2020 when her boss walked to the cubicle and told her a police officer was looking for her. Hudgens said she quit as a dispatcher because of the way the town handled and in her mind, glossed over Savelles arrest. Third party advertisements support hosting, listing verification, updates, and site maintenance. Stories from people stopped in the ticket-happy town continue to roll down like an avalanche, since AL.com last week published the story of how the tiny town turned to aggressive ticketing to build a ballooning police force that came to provide half the towns revenue. Jetts Towing owner Wayne Jett could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. James Sebestain Bo Savelle III (Photo courtesy of Hoover Police). A small jar that once may have held marijuana, And a small tray that might have been used to roll a joint, reported just 55 serious crimes to the state in the entire eight year period between 2011 and 2018, 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. Police stops soared between 2018 and 2020. Lawyer Martin Weinberg had a client in Brookside, a young man named Thomas Hall, who was stopped for speeding and found with a small amount of marijuana. Jones blamed the lawsuits on ambulance-chasing attorneys.. The resignations include former chief Mike Jones, who built the tiny towns department from a one-man agency in 2018 to one that, according to data the town provided to AL.com in response to a public records request, included 13 full time officers and two reserves. All rights reserved (About Us). 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. Raeland Jahmille Johnson was Arrested/Booked on Wednesday March 1st 2023. Some residents worried the growing fleet of military equipment lined up outside town hall sent an unwelcoming message. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The police chief of a small Alabama town with 1,253 residents resigned after a report about policing practices was released . Brookside, Ala., may only have 10 kilometres of roads, one store and a volunteer fire department, but its police force has an armoured truck; two police dogs; nine unmarked vehicles, seven of . Hudgens oversaw inmates in the two little town hall rooms adapted as jail cells. Which is another problem altogether, Sheriff Pettway said. She fought it instead. When youre naive and you work with police, you assume theyre gonna do the right thing, he said. 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. Ainsworth, also a Republican, told AL.com that his office would look at legislative options to determine how to prevent towns from taking advantage of drivers passing through on highways, a problem lawmakers acknowledged is happening across the state. 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. What could I have done to warrant police from a different city showing up at my work to arrest me?, The answer would come soon, as the first officer spoke: Do you remember getting a ticket in Brookside?. They were expected to keep track of real-time police calls on Excel files. 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. Another, the second-leading ticket-giver between 2018 and 2020, according to records filed in a lawsuit against the town, had been ticketed eight times by other agencies for speeding, four times for driving with no seat belt, twice for driving without insurance, twice for driving without a visible tag, and once this one years ago for driving on a suspended license. 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). Reporting Agency: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Alabama. The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to let a class-action lawsuit go forward against an Alabama town accused of policing for profit with excessive fines and aggressive enforcement of local laws.Video above: Federal class action lawsuit filed against Town of Brookside, police officers The U.S. attorney's office this week filed a statement of interest in the civil lawsuit against . The Town of Brookside, Alabama, is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alabama ("the State"), and subject to suit. It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. 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. By Josh Gauntt. By Josh Gauntt. Officers detained and questioned drivers, often handcuffing them during the search as they brought in drug-sniffing dogs named Axl and Cash. He stated that I issued threats, incited a riot, and slandered the Brookside Police Department in my Facebook posts. Circuit Judge Shanta Craig Owens threw out another 41 cases on appeal from Brookside involving more than a dozen people, calling the evidence garbage. She said she would not consider a case credible if the only witness was a Brookside police officer. And I didnt realize that until some time had passed.. He said hed like to see even more growth in revenue from fines and forfeitures. In fact, they said in November they didnt know how that money is spent. They've also been accused of using racist language in a community that is majority white, but also has a Black population of nearly 25 percent and a small but growing Latino population. They own the town.. But a year at Brookside is a pretty long time.. Savelle became a lieutenant in Brookside. By Charlotte Trattner On 1/26/22 at 1:38 PM EST. Free Honea Path Property Records Search. Michelle Jones made an official complaint to the Alabama Attorney's General's office three years ago, arguing that Brookside police stopped her out of jurisdiction, issued a bogus citation and . 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The release said the town has no further comment on Jones's resignation since it involves a "personnel matter." On the other end was a caller IDd as coming from the Brookside Town Hall, she said. , threats, embarrassing social media posts and even blue-light traffic stops. However, if you do not have an address, the Mississippi Neighborhood Explorer is the SECOND-BEST-TOOL to research a neighborhood (it provides a subset of the information that the Address Research Tool provides), but you can get a report by simply marking a spot on a map. John Minyard told his story at a Brookside town hall meeting. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. By the time she found it the storage fees topped $2,000. Sorry for the typo, the mayor wrote. 2022 Police Jurisdiction Annexations, Deannexations and Ordinances, Ords. The Birmingham Times reported that nearly half of Brookside's revenue in 2020 came from forfeitures and fines. Mayor Bryan dismissed the complaints of those who must appear in court. I feel bad for those guys who struggle, Perez said. Brookside police gave her a ticket in May of 2019 for running a stop sign at Roberta Road and Cherry Avenue across I-22 from Brookside. Top FB Transfers; Latest FB Transfers; By Position FB Transfers; NCAA FB To report a criminal tax violation,please call (251) 344-4737, To report non-filers, please emailtaxpolicy@revenue.alabama.gov. She thought the complaint was long forgotten or closed. He was cited for driving with a suspended license a matter he thought hed cleared up but he doesnt blame Brookside for that. He reported that his Police Chief was mad.. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Jones put out word that Brookside was hiring officers and dispatchers for the new department, which he cast as an interstate drug unit. He quickly built a roster of officers, some with questionable pasts that made them more loyal, adding new staff every quarter until the force eventually topped out at 13, not counting reserves. 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). 10, 2022 at 9:06 PM PST. What happened in Brookside is a lesson for all those who fail to see the signs in Brookside or elsewhere and do nothing, said Carla Crowder, the director of Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. I wouldnt be surprised if they opened up an investigation. I was just looking at him like, so this is what this stop is about?. 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. McDonald was new to policing, but soon grew disillusioned with Jones demands and what he considered broken promises about pay and benefits. A year before, Brooksides low-key, one-man police department had begun to metastasize, at the behest of town leaders, into an insatiable band of reverse Robin Hoods, stopping so many cars, detaining and arresting so many people that it couldnt keep up. She complained directly to then-Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones. This is shocking, said Crowder. Lets create our opportunities here and grow Brookside and not do it any other kind of way.. When drivers asked why they were being treated as criminals, officers responded, as Jeanetta Jones claims they did to her, by saying they were the police, and could do what they wanted. Michelle Jones said she has had friends, acquaintances and family members stopped in Brookside. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. I think it could be more.. Ramon Perez showed up for court in December ready to fight traffic citations he got in Brookside. 1331, Federal Question jurisdiction, because the case is a civil rights lawsuit brought If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. It frightened her, and led to more trouble. 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. The Planning Jurisdictions and City/Town Limits in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Officers said they stopped her because the tag light on her Honda Odyssey was not visible from 50 feet away. "Brookside is a continuation of that story almost 10 years later. Fines . Fallout over the Brookside revelations continues. He was also ticketed for improper signal, though he cant even fathom how that might have occurred. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. 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 ABC3340 News I-Team first exposed . As more tickets brought in more money, the town began to spend much more. 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. 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. 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. Silverware, plates and everything like that.. This windfall did not happen by accident but is the result of a systematic effort by Brookside's police department to prioritize ticket collection over the administration of justice. Town officials ignored signs of trouble because they were so infatuated with the influx of money that they had blinders on, she said. Popularity:#11 of 45 Police Departments in Jefferson County#69 of 565 Police Departments in Alabama#2,237 in Police Departments. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer. People stand in line, waiting to get into the courtroom. All rights reserved (About Us). Seven Brookside police officers have resigned since details of the towns aggressive policing strategy gained national attention in January. It agreed to give back the tank. 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. She said one officer told her Well, we didnt say it wasnt working. But if you want real justice, I think youll go through the process. 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.