It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. Read also: Brookside police patrolled social media, threatening town critics. 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). 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. All rights reserved (About Us). 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 suit also names 23 current and former officers as individual defendants. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. Even the claims of retaliation for social media posts are not unusual in Brookside. In 2018, reporters for ABC 33/40 said they asked the former mayor of Brookside about Jones financial problems when he was hired. Lt. Gov. Arrest powers are not confined to city limits or jurisdictional boundaries except within the State of Alabama.. And local court officials have thrown out or called into question more than 100 cases involving Brookside police. Sarathy Jones said the issues in Brookside should be a warning for towns and small cities to examine their revenue sources and ensure their local governments aren't turning to law enforcement as moneymaking arms. About a year ago, the former head of the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police received several complaints about the Brookside Police Department. Thats a 1,478% increase, with 1.7 tows for every household in town. 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. Former Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones was arrested May 2, 2022 in Covington County, Ala., charged with impersonating a police officer. "There is no coming back from this. she said. This is shocking, said Crowder. No one can objectively look at this and conclude this is good government that is keeping us safer.. It did not feature a breakout of the police department. They were shining these flashlights in my car and it was daylight. A police department in Brookside, Alabama, is facing allegations of policing for profit and defamation lawsuits after residents say they've received bogus charges. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. IE 11 is not supported. 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. Brookside until recently was known for its quirky Russian food festival and the states only onion-domed Russian Orthodox Church. called for the second town hall meeting this week. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer. I feel bad for those guys who struggle, Perez said. Unsure what was happening, Harris dialed 911. All rights reserved (About Us). If you had more officers and more productivity youd have more, Jones said. The audits show, however, how the town came to depend on the ticket money. I know that.. Ive never seen a possession case split like that, he said. Terms and Conditions. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. In January of 2014 Savelle was arrested in Shelby County a county south of Birmingham that includes Helena on charges of public intoxication, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. You may not use this site for the purposes of furnishing consumer reports about search subjects or for any use prohibited by the FCRA. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Will Ainsworth requested a state audit, and amid calls for state and federal investigations. 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. He saw so many people trying to park in the grassy field outside the municipal building that police had to direct traffic. The officer said he would take them both to jail because she didnt have her ID. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Sheriff Pettway gaped at the Brookside ratio. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Detective Johnson had called and asked that I come to the Brookside Police Department to talk to them. And 99% of them are lying.. I see a 600% increase thats a failure. Fines and forfeitures seizures of cars during traffic stops, among other things doubled from 2018 to 2019. 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. Roger McCondichie, the late mayor of Brookside, at the time called Jones company woes personal business and defended the hiring by saying Jones was certified and had all the credentials. 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 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. If you have a witness with you, theyre gonna issue you a warning., I felt that basically, that this was a way for them to make money to fund their city off the backs of citizens from other areas. But its a common charge in Brookside. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Police put her in a patrol car and searched her vehicle for drugs. Traffic tickets, and criminalizing those who passed through, became the citys leading industry. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The officers, though many, were not well paid. 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. She agrees that there was selective enforcement. Most of the time people get stopped, theyre going to get a ticket. Arrests on Brookside warrants went from zero to 243 in the span of two years, according to statistics Chief Jones presented to the council. 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. All rights reserved. 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. There were two cars and one SUV that surrounded my car and police were everywhere, she wrote. The town now faces 13 lawsuits. Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. They tell, with consistency, of specious tickets and arrests, of retaliation by a police department and by a chief who challenged those who questioned him as he sought to build an empire on the backs of drivers. This is at the corner of Roberta Road and Mulberry Road, which is far away from their city limits.. It went from towing 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020 each carrying fines. Bryan served as president pro tem of the council for years, and performed the duties of mayor during the long illness of his predecessor. Netta Womack tells her story about Brookside police at a town hall Tuesday February 1, 2022. Source: Yahoo Images. But an officer grabbed the phone and threw it to the ground, breaking it, the lawsuit says. All rights reserved (About Us). View map of Brookside Police Department, and get driving directions from your location. 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.. 2711 Municipal Dr. Brookside, AL 35036. 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. They were doing the same thing to every person that was there. Brookside has operated its police and court system with the primary objective of obtaining revenue from motorists traveling on or near Interstate-22, Harris lawyers wrote in a suit filed last year. There's no greater way in which your rights can be infringed than by becoming prey to. When the deputy approached the car, he reported that the driver of the vehicle was holding a police badge out of the drivers window, according to the affidavit filed by the county to obtain a warrant for Jones. They are sworn Law Enforcement Officers certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards Training (sic) Commission. 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