About Us Contact Us The special report concludes with six recommendations for Brookside leaders and the Brookside Police Department. People stopped by Brookside police more than a mile and half outside the town limits. 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. He served a months suspension, with pay in the wake of news coverage about the arrest. Hed been stopped for rolling the stop sign, which he disputes, and speeding, which he also disputes. Savelle pulled out a Brookside Police Department badge before Hoover officers arrived, according to the report that cited witnesses and the presence of cameras. The caller identified himself as a Det. The complaint alleges numerous constitutional violations, and we believe the citizens need to be protected from illegal actions by the Town of Brookside.. Attempts to reach Savelle for comment were unsuccessful. AL.com also sought connection through Brookside officials. Harris lawyers contend she was taken to the Brookside jail, strip-searched, and told she could be jailed up to two days. Do you understand what you are charged with? the judge asked on that first Thursday in December. They were shining these flashlights in my car and it was daylight. Mayor Bryan said he inherited a bad situation when he took over as mayor in November, and was fooled by Jones. 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. In 2018, when the town had one full-time police officer and a few part-timers, it reported no serious crimes to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center. 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. 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. Arrest powers are not confined to city limits or jurisdictional boundaries except within the State of Alabama.. However, Jones resigned or was let go from Brooksides police department on Jan. 25, soon after reports of the small towns aggressive policing drew the attention of state lawmakers and local officials. At Brookside municipal court, the courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Jones said crime when he took over was higher than it appeared from numbers the town reported to the state. We get calls about Brookside quite regularly because they really go outside their jurisdiction to stop people, Pettway 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. But it's also prevalent across the country. Will Ainsworth want to know how such a department could have existed. McDonald, the towns first dispatcher, said he too found Bryans statement lacking. 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 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. 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.. And theyre saying they were nowhere near Brookside.. 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. 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. 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. 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. For most of the past decade it saw little crimeonly 55 . She was also charged with resisting arrest. The town announced his departure in a statement, but would not comment further. A court worker told her she would have to plead guilty or go to driving school. John Walker was stopped in Brookside for following too closely. In a statement, Brookside City Attorney Mark Parnell said that as the local prosecutor, he has "strived to ensure" only police charges with merit moved forward or were otherwise dismissed. The Brookside police staff, based on this data, came to one officer for every 84 residents in January. 2711 Municipal Dr. Brookside, AL 35036. In addition, she said, counting on fines and fees collected from people in lower income and marginalized communities only serves to punish them further. 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. He feels the police saw him as prey, and treated him as such. Bryan served as president pro tem of the council for years, and performed the duties of mayor during the long illness of his predecessor. 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. They had blinders on. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Ramon Perez came to court last month ready to fight the tickets hed been handed by Brookside police, including one for rolling through a stop sign and another for driving 48 mph in a 40 zone. Savelle was given pre-trial release, but Shelby County Community Corrections asked a judge a few weeks later to revoke Savelles bond when he willfully failed to comply with the conditions by failing to pay fees for drug screening, failing three alcohol tests and failing to show up for drug tests, court records show. Suggest Listing That meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow Lane. 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. I was working that night and I received a phone call from the Hoover police chief, she said. All rights reserved (About Us). Tuesday February 1, 2022. They seek damages against the individual police officers for wrongful fines, forfeitures, and arrests, including mental anguish damages., In trying to establish a conspiracy, the complaint contends that the town of Brookside, its court and its officers, exist to extract the payment of unlawful fines from the people.. Brookside has 1,253 people, according to the most recent census. As more tickets brought in more money, the town began to spend much more. Pettway also said issues with Brookside could draw the attention of the federal government. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. For context, Birmingham city would have to more than triple the size of its force to equal a ratio of that in Brookside. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. If you had more officers and more productivity youd have more, Jones said. In December the mayor provided AL.com a budget document, based on previous years audits. Police Trap, she posted in June of 2019. Its my understanding that a guy can go out there and I mean, he can fall into a black hole, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr said of drivers getting entangled financially. The conclusion reads: The chief of police at a northern Jefferson County police department resigned on Tuesday. Officer Deshawn Mark Cook, who worked in Brookside as recently as Thursday, was arrested Friday on charges of first degree rape stemming from 2021. she said. The The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts released an audit into Brookside in the Spring of 2022. Former Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones was arrested May 2, 2022 in Covington County, Ala., charged with impersonating a police officer. Scott Shackford | 1.19.2022 1:20 PM. Brookside now faces at least five lawsuits. He was cited for driving with a suspended license a matter he thought hed cleared up but he doesnt blame Brookside for that. Fewer than 100 of its residents graduated college. she added. Sorry for the typo, the mayor wrote. They were doing the same thing to every person that was there. If we have to come get ya, well make you famous!, When you look at their Facebook pages its almost like they are bullies. He said he also represented a woman who was stopped in 2019 for driving in the left lane of I-22, which was not technically a crime, and accused police of using a "false left-lane violation" to ensnare motorists. Current Mayor Mike Bryan has called for Brookside police to stop patrolling Interstate 22, except for wrecks and emergencies. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. 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. It is unclear whether the resignations were forced, or if the officers chose to leave on their own, or a mixture of both. The deputy has since also issued a speeding ticket to go along with the impersonation charge.. Find Brookside residential property records including property owners, sales & transfer history, deeds & titles, property taxes, valuations, land, zoning records & more. He was also ticketed for improper signal, though he cant even fathom how that might have occurred. Simon led an in-depth and months long investigation into whether officers in the Brookside Police Department participated in racial profiling. 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. However, our analysis did find significant evidence of selective enforcement with respect to warning tickets. 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. Officer Deshawn Mark Cook, who worked in Brookside as recently as Thursday, was arrested Friday on charges of first degree rape stemming from 2021. Eventually she was given an inhaler and treated by paramedics. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. All rights reserved (About Us). Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. 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. Sheriff Pettway gaped at the Brookside ratio. Brooksides police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. Because people overwhelmed by debt have been shown to turn to crime to pay their fines an argument can be made that this kind of policing creates crime, Crowder said. Additional Information. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. The lowest-paid officers made $12 an hour. I quit Brookside once he came back, she said. It showed that total arrests custodial, misdemeanor and felony rose 1,109% from 2018 to 2020. And while sitting in court I heard that half the court was also stopped for the same thing.. 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. All rights reserved. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. He said police accused him of running a stop sign that I never did run, and he complained about it on Facebook. Savelle made $15.82 an hour, and all others made less. This is shocking, said Crowder. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. Dedicated to documenting the apparent corruption of the Town and Police of Brookside, Alabama. People who were stopped by Brookside police and fined more than the state allows. 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. Brookside police officers in sworn depositions indicated they did not follow drivers for a full mile and a half before or after the new law was passed, and they continued to write tickets under the old law after the new road rage bill passed. The Brookside Police Department, located in Brookside, Alabama is a law enforcement agency that has been granted specific police powers in Jefferson County. 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. 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. His car was towed with apologies from the tow-truck driver costing him several hundred dollars. She was not speeding, or breaking the law, she argued in the suit. Brookside police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. 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. Tiny Brooksides style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. Find 12 external resources related to Brookside Police Department. Lt. Gov. I think it could be more.. This story was published with the support of a grant from Columbia Universitys Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights. It was something that I should not have been stopped for, Brumlow said in sworn testimony. 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. You cant do whats going on over there.. Police Chief Mike Jones has since resigned, Lt. Gov. Covington County's affidavit for a warrant to arrest former Brookside police chief Mike Jones. 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. soon after reports of the small towns aggressive policing, AL.com detailed how the department preyed on drivers. CNN's Nick Valencia. People who had their vehicles towed and impounded by Jetts Towing after a traffic stop. No communitysmall or large can do it alone. The audits show, however, how the town came to depend on the ticket money. A man claims officers violated his civil rights and allegedly made-up charges. 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.. The town's median household income is less than $40,000, according to demographic data. "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?" ABC 33/40s Cynthia Gould reported at the time. Another would bar police from using unmarked cars for traffic stops. By last summer, he said in a deposition, Brookside had hired eight additional full-time officers and several part-timers. Ultimately another officer took Perez to his friends house to retrieve her ID, he said. 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. 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. Ive never seen a possession case split like that, he said. Oftentimes, a person's decision to forgo paying a fine goes deeper, Sarathy Jones said. Its a former mining town, its population about the same as it was a decade ago. 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. Brookside Mayor Mike Bryan said in a statement, We cannot comment on the lawsuits filed Monday. Which is another problem altogether, Sheriff Pettway 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. 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. I could take over the whole county with numbers like that, he joked. 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. 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. 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. 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. Brookside police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. 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. 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. 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