She paid the $160 ticket and began to make her case through emails to public officials, complaints, a television interview and elsewhere. Its findings will be passed along to appropriate state agencies, if necessary. Hall did appeal, and a Jefferson County judge ultimately dismissed the charges. The lowest-paid officers made $12 an hour. 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. But fines and. Since this involves a personnel matter, the Town has no further comment. 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. Terms and Conditions. In an email to her May 29, 2019, Mike Jones defended the stop, and the ability to ticket outside of Brookside. 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. 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. Name Brookside Police Department Suggest Edit Address 208 Main Street Brookside , Alabama , 35036 Phone 205-674-9275 Fax 205-674-9547 Brookside Police Department Details Type 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Leadership should be aware that large-scale statistical analyses are inherently untimely and mask individual behavior. By last summer, he said in a deposition, Brookside had hired eight additional full-time officers and several part-timers. And a Brookside man told AL.com police in the town pulled him over with blue lights and told him there would be consequences if he posted more about the police on Facebook. It has had a continued practice of stopping and ticketing scores of vehicles daily, doing so without probable cause or reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.. Dozens of people who claim they were victimized by Brookside Police have come forward to tell their stories. Arrest powers are not confined to city limits or jurisdictional boundaries except within the State of Alabama.. Wattson claims he was unaware of the drugs. And theyre saying they were nowhere near Brookside.. No one can objectively look at this and conclude this is good government that is keeping us safer.. The towns own investigator said police under Jones sought out those who they believed could not put up a fight poor people in particular, and those who had previous run-ins with the law. The AGs office this week would not confirm or deny to AL.com the existence of any case involving Brookside. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. 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. Those charges include possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to state records. According to AL.com's investigation, Jones, who was hired in 2018, built a police department of 10 or more full-time and part-time officers to patrol Brookside's 6 miles of roads and 1 mile jurisdiction along Interstate 22, a corridor between Birmingham and Memphis, Tennessee. Ive been irritated in these comments that come from Mike Bryan, McDonald said. He built the department from a one-man operation to a ticket-hungry department with 10 blacked-out. Brookside is the "the wild, Wild West," one state lawmaker said after its income from traffic fines and forfeitures reportedly rose 640 percent in 2 years. 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. No communitysmall or large can do it alone. He had a net worth of $55,000 and a monthly income of $2,244, according to federal records. Many of the complaints regarding how police enforced traffic stops centered around officers pulling people over outside their jurisdiction and even police jurisdiction signs posted beyond city limits. Netta Womack tells her story about Brookside police at a town hall Tuesday February 1, 2022. Yet the town with no traffic lights collected $487 in fines and forfeitures in 2020 for every man, woman and child, though many of those fined were merely passing by on I-22. Greenway Park incorporates a truly remarkable mix of habitats in close proximity. 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. In fact the woman her name is redacted in the report told police she turned around and hit him after Savelle snuck up behind her and grabbed her buttocks.. Fairness and real justice, I believe, is something people are looking for when it comes to law enforcement. 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 Town of Brookside participates in the affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, it says. All rights reserved (About Us). "It's the wild, Wild West, and they created their own wild, Wild West.". He served a months suspension, with pay in the wake of news coverage about the arrest. 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. Savelle made $15.82 an hour, and all others made less. Find Arrest Records, Police Records, and Warrants related to Brookside Police Department. Please keep it more-or-less civil. The release said the town has no further comment on Jones's resignation since it involves a "personnel matter." The deputy described a Brookside badge with a chief indicator at the bottom. Michelle Jones, of Forestdale, has fought the Brookside police department for three years. It was something that I should not have been stopped for, Brumlow said in sworn testimony. Not for speeding, or running a stop sign, or any violation. 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). Police Trap, she posted in June of 2019. But he also worries for relatives and employees who live in Brookside. It parked a riot control vehicle townspeople call it a tank outside the municipal complex and community center. As Brookside's earnings draw further scrutiny, with Givan planning a town hall Tuesday to allow people who say they've been exploited by the police force to come forward, advocacy organizations are emphasizing that it is no outlier and highlights how across the country, traffic fines and related fees are being used to fill municipal coffers at the expense of people who are often financially struggling and from communities of color. Neither the mayor nor chief would talk about pending litigation, but both said they have reviewed the cases involved, including bodycam footage, and said they found no wrongdoing on the citys part. Police advocates, including Alabama Rep. Allen Treadaway, a Republican from Morris who was an assistant police chief at Birmingham and a Fraternal Order of Police leader, said a person with such a past should never have been hired as a police officer at all. The officer said We have had people stop and record us, she said, like it explained his actions.. I feel bad for those guys who struggle, Perez said. 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. For Michelle Jones, it has been a dedicated three-year fight. 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. 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). The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. Not speeding, not swerving, just using the left lane. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. 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. 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. Traffic tickets, and criminalizing those who passed through, became the citys leading industry. 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. But for this: The officer said the chiefs pretty upset about that post you put on Facebook. the Brookside man told AL.com. Mayor Bryan said he inherited a bad situation when he took over as mayor in November, and was fooled by Jones. AL.com published a story outlining Brookside policing, , former Lt. James Bo Savelle III, resigned Jan. 31. says he was a passenger in car stopped for driving with an improper tag, and that he was detained, among other things. He said response times were long because Brookside often had to rely on the Jefferson County Sheriffs department for service. On July 10th, 2019, 16 days after she paid her ticket, her phone rang. 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. I saw him and we looked eye to eye, the Chelsea business owner said. At least three bills are now before the Legislature that would affect those cities. Perez is angry at his treatment. But if you want real justice, I think youll go through the process. View map of Brookside Police Department, and get driving directions from your location. Ultimately another officer took Perez to his friends house to retrieve her ID, he said. It went from towing 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020 each carrying fines. Thats a 1,478% increase, with 1.7 tows for every household in town. Brooksides police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. 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.. This is at the corner of Roberta Road and Mulberry Road, which is far away from their city limits.. Jones could not be reached for comment on this report. But my behavior was right. About a year ago, the former head of the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police received several complaints about the Brookside Police Department. Find 6 Police Departments within 8.3 miles of Brookside Police Department. He seems to want to push the blame off on everybody else when he and (former mayor) Roger McCondichie both appointed Mike Jones knowing about his past. The town now faces 13 lawsuits. 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). That meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow Lane. But an officer grabbed the phone and threw it to the ground, breaking it, the lawsuit says. But it's also prevalent across the country. 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. Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones, who spearheaded the change and grew the police department tenfold, at least, calls the towns policing a positive story. Mayor Mike Bryan a former councilman who assumed his position last year after the death of the previous mayor sits and nods in agreement. 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. [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. The town's median household income is less than $40,000, according to demographic data. 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. I could take over the whole county with numbers like that, he joked. . 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.. But Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared after that, and the towns law-enforcement goals and its reputation changed. 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. She thought the complaint was long forgotten or closed. Read also: Brookside police patrolled social media, threatening town critics. Brookside now faces at least five lawsuits. State agencies have since launched audits and investigations of police there, and officials such as Alabama Lt. Gov. To rely on the Jefferson County Sheriffs office Training center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow lane parking. 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