FORMER BROOKSIDE POLICE CHIEF RECEIVES FELONY CONVICTION | Alabama Law At a March 7 town council meeting Mayor Bryan stood in the spot where Wooten sat on court days, in the reflection of the Ten Commandments. Her Odyssey, and all the items in it, were auctioned off, she said. "You're taking the money for them to potentially get that light fixed by making them pay a fine.". 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. The motive was to generate revenue for Brookside.. 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. Seven Brookside police officers have resigned since details of the towns aggressive policing strategy gained national attention in January. I had two boats in my boat shed and he put stickers on both of them and told me, because I didnt have updated tags on them that they were gonna tow em, Pickle said. Total town income more than doubled from 2018 to 2020 from $582,000 to more than $1.2 million as fines and forfeitures rose 640%. The Alabama Legislature in the last week of this years session passed a bill sponsored in the Senate by a Republican and in the House by a Democrat that bars municipalities from using fines and traffic fees to supply more than 10 percent of their budgets. The Town of Brookside released this statement: To investigate and address the issues raised by the recent news accounts of our Police Department, on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, the Town of Brookside requested the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC) perform a compliance audit of the Brookside Police Department . 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. 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. A client came to him after she was stopped for driving in the left lane of the interstate, a crime he insists did not exist at the time. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. 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. Guns, money and drugs were tossed recklessly about, as the town arrested more people, and confiscated more property than workers or facilities could handle. The accounts of drivers dozens of them are strikingly similar. Lic. Brookside Property Records Search (Alabama) - countyoffice.org I know that.. Harris lawyers contend she was taken to the Brookside jail, strip-searched, and told she could be jailed up to two days. He had past drug and alcohol charges, a DUI and an arrest for public lewdness, according to police records. The ABC3340 News I-Team first exposed . BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - Allegations of aggressive policing and racial profiling are flying around the town of Brookside. In 2020 they came to $610,000. Brittany Coleman is fighting Brookside, Alabama over its abusive fines. All rights reserved (About Us). Perez ultimately decided to pay the $1,100 fine on top of hundreds hed already spent to get his towed car back and get the heck out of Brookside. Multiple drivers say Jetts Towing Co. showed up on the side of the road at the same time as police stops. However, an initial review of the complaint reveals that any allegations of conspiracy are false and without merit and the Town vehemently denies such allegations.. And in 2019, when Jones was out of town and Savelle filling in as Brookside chief, he was charged with harassment at a Dave & Busters in Hoover. 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. Brumlow pleaded not guilty, and had to go to court over and over again as the case was postponed. Looking at over the city's audits, the fines and fees were broken out. It went from towing 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020 - each carrying fines. Lawyers for eight people argued this month in a federal lawsuit that Brookside and Jetts Towing engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity. The lawyers cited federal anti-corruption RICO statutes and the Hobbs Act. People who were detained by Brookside officers beyond a traffic stop. "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 . Do you understand what you are charged with? the judge asked on that first Thursday in December. Others werent so fortunate. 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. They went out and got it, in other municipalities, as armed debt collectors. mathiasministry.com Informacin detallada del sitio web y la empresa Chief Jones resigned on Jan. 25. 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. 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. By Josh Gauntt. Olive. Its a former mining town, its population about the same as it was a decade ago. I always pray, and this day has come at the right time, Netta Womack said at the town hall. For years, no one had heard of or cared that the town of Brookside even existed and that possibly includes a . She said one officer told her Well, we didnt say it wasnt working. Jones and Bryan said neither the town nor the police department relies on the revenue officers bring in. To report a criminal tax violation,please call (251) 344-4737, To report non-filers, please emailtaxpolicy@revenue.alabama.gov. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. 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. Officers said they stopped her because the tag light on her Honda Odyssey was not visible from 50 feet away. But lawyers and law enforcement officers across central Alabama have raised questions about things in Brookside they say they have never otherwise come across. The Tuscaloosa County Public Works Dept. McDonald attributed it to cruelty.. In May of 2019, the month Brumlow was stopped, Brookside officers ticketed 75 people for driving in the left lane. The Birmingham Times reported that nearly half of Brookside's revenue in 2020 came from forfeitures and fines. Tuesday February 1, 2022. About Us Contact Us 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. II. Find Arrest Records, Police Records, and Warrants related to Brookside Police Department. We said we couldnt see it from 50 feet away.. Planning Jurisdictions & City/Town Limits in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama It frightened her, and led to more trouble. While tiny Brookside was not alone in taking such equipment and weaponry, it was particularly aggressive. Another Brookside cop ran from the rear of the building, where he had positioned himself to prevent her escape. In 2018 total revenue for the town of Brookside was $586,000. They let her out of jail at midnight, long after her family had made bond. 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. That contributed a 14% chunk of the citys total income, a number that would be considered high in much of America. The town collected surplus valued at $760,846, more than accepted by Birmingham or Montgomery, and among the highest totals in Alabama. She did. In court she pleaded down to driving without a state license less serious than driving while suspended and ultimately got her license back. A department of nine officers in a 1,253-person town is far larger than average. I was scared to death even though I was doing nothing wrong.. Months of research and dozens of interviews by AL.com found that Brooksides finances are rocket-fueled by tickets and aggressive policing. We will be reviewing the details of the allegations with the Towns legal counsel. maintains roads and possesses right of way within some city/town limits and planning jurisdictions. But its a common charge in Brookside. 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. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. On top of the third party audit, the town has retained a former Jefferson County judge to . The Town of Brookside, Alabama, is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alabama ("the State"), and subject to suit. Police Chief of Alabama Town That Was Getting Fat on Fines Steps Down wind speeds 261-318 mph) tornado 4.4 miles away from the Brookside town center killed 32 people and injured 259 people and caused $200 million in damages.. On 4/4/1977, a category F5 tornado 7.8 miles away from . 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. People who were stopped by Brookside police and fined more than the state allows. New state audit of Brookside finds major problems with financial - WBRC She paid the $160 ticket and began to make her case through emails to public officials, complaints, a television interview and elsewhere. At a Feb. 1 town hall meeting near Brookside, residents and drivers told vivid stories of police abuses and more meanness and called for investigations, restitution and even dissolution of the police force and the town itself. If he saw you and he was riding down the street, he would embarrass you in your front yard., She said she once questioned Jones methods in a public meeting, and he pulled up outside her house a little later. 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. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - A new audit of the town of Brookside released by the Alabama Dept. She has watched and documented stops there. Reporting Agency: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Alabama. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Will Ainsworth requested a state audit, and amid calls for state and federal investigations. James Sebestain Bo Savelle III (Photo courtesy of Hoover Police). Visibility was low and she was driving cautiously, she 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. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on an official government site. CNN . Although the town has no towing contract, it had a no-bid relationship with Jetts, a state audit described. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Instead, the arresting officer was listed as Agent JS, while the assisting officer was Agent AR..
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