Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. It is unclear whether the resignations were forced, or if the officers chose to leave on their own, or a mixture of both. 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. Even the claims of retaliation for social media posts are not unusual in Brookside. [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. Over 200 people packed into the new Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Facility building to voice their complaints about aggressive policing by the Brookside Police Dept. Mr. Bryan, as un-involved as he sounds, is as culpable as the others.. 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. The special report concludes with six recommendations for Brookside leaders and the Brookside Police Department. "What if $150 is the cost of choosing between feeding my child, getting their medicine or paying this ticket?" Seven Brookside police officers have resigned since January Published: Feb. 09, 2022, 10:00 a.m. Netta Womack tells her story about Brookside police at a town hall Tuesday February 1, 2022.. People stand in line, waiting to get into the courtroom. He said police accused him of running a stop sign that I never did run, and he complained about it on Facebook. Dawson also represents Victoria Brumlow, a young woman who like hundreds more was stopped on I-22 and ticketed for driving on the left lane of the interstate. You cant do whats going on over there.. 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. On the other end was a caller IDd as coming from the Brookside Town Hall, she said. He feels the police saw him as prey, and treated him as such. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. 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. All Rights Reserved. Jones is not alone in complaining about Brookside. 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. Michelle Jones, of Forestdale, has fought the Brookside police department for three years. She is unsure if he called the man. Terms and Conditions. We dont have a law that says if you dont have ID, you go to jail, he said. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. AL.com found court records that detail a string of financial troubles for Jones, as state and federal lawsuits reveal employees, lawyers, creditors and others who claim Jones company, Event Operations Group, did not pay them or failed to live up to obligations. 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. The caller identified himself as a Det. 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.. In December the mayor provided AL.com a budget document, based on previous years audits. Some of the charges Savelle has faced predate his hiring at Brookside. Jones and Bryan said neither the town nor the police department relies on the revenue officers bring in. "The Town of Brookside is committed to reforming our police department and setting a new standard for community policing in Brookside and Alabama," says Bryan. 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. At least three bills are now before the Legislature that would affect those cities. She thought the complaint was long forgotten or closed. Traffic tickets, and criminalizing those who passed through, became the citys leading industry. "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?" Fines and forfeitures seizures of cars during traffic stops, among other things doubled from 2018 to 2019. First, it should avoid racial profiling and selective enforcement. after AL.coms original report on Brookside. From 2018 to 2020, spending on police rose from $79,000 to $524,000, a 560% increase. John Archibald: Brookside is an extreme example of a type of policing that's going on all over this country. Despite that, the Shelby County case was dropped without explanation under the condition that he pay $100. In 2018, reporters for ABC 33/40 said they asked the former mayor of Brookside about Jones financial problems when he was hired. Jones testified his officers wear gray uniforms with no Brookside insignias. About a year ago, the former head of the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police received several complaints about the Brookside Police Department. I wouldnt be surprised if they opened up an investigation. Officials from the examiners office were believed to visit Brookside last week. He was also ticketed for improper signal, though he cant even fathom how that might have occurred. Two or three days later Brookside police stopped him again. "There is no coming back from this. The complaint seeks to establish four classes of people who were stopped and extorted by the town of Brookside, Jetts Towing Co. or the officers. Will Ainsworth want to know how such a department could have existed. After I told him that I would not, he reported that they have two warrants for my arrest. 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. 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. 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). I feel like they cant claim innocence in this situation., They saw dollar signs, she said of the mayors and the council. They own the town.. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) -The town of Brookside is facing another lawsuit. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Ainsworth called for a financial audit by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts and vowed the state would investigate Brookside and towns like it. We had no knowledge of Mike Jones whereabouts after his resignation January 25, Mayor Mike Bryan said. McDonald, the towns first dispatcher, said he too found Bryans statement lacking. Allan Armstrong, one of a group of lawyers who filed the complaint, said Brookside violated basic American rights. Not for speeding, or running a stop sign, or any violation. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. Unsure what was happening, Harris dialed 911. Second, the town would likely benefit from a relationship with a research organization to provide annual information on the existence of any red flags detected in statistical trends and patterns. Bryan served as president pro tem of the council for years, and performed the duties of mayor during the long illness of his predecessor. State Representative Juandalynn Givan isnt surprised by the report. And theyre saying they were nowhere near Brookside.. The Brookside Police Department is located on Municipal Drive, and the Chief of Police is Jason Springfield. In 2020 they came to $610,000. The police wont do anything, Savelle is quoted in the report as saying. The man is still afraid of retaliation, and asked for anonymity. County Office is not affiliated with any government agency. Dedicated to documenting the apparent corruption of the Town and Police of Brookside, Alabama. . 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. It is what happened after the stop that is most concerning to him. Months of research and dozens of interviews by AL.com found that Brooksides finances are rocket-fueled by tickets and aggressive policing. Brookside now faces at least five lawsuits. Savelle on Monday resigned from the Brookside Department, hours after AL.com asked city officials about his past. Not speeding, not swerving, just using the left lane. August 18, 2015 Aerial Videography of Brookside, Alabama Trails Five Mile Creek on the Alabama Birding Trail September 24, 2014 Brookside walkng trail has been added to the Appalchian Highlands Birding Trail web site! Alabama Senate candidate Lisa Ward said ex-Chief Jones tried to intimidate her in a social media message after she shared the AL.com story on Facebook. That meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow Lane. Franklin said she believes the only reason she wasnt arrested was because she works for Jefferson County. A 2019 report in Governing magazine found that fines and forfeitures account for more than 10 percent of general fund revenues for nearly 600 jurisdictions throughout the country, and in jurisdictions where fines accounted for more than 20 percent, the local median household income was less than $40,000. In a two-year period after Jones hiring, income from fines and forfeitures rose more than 600 percent, and that money made up 49 percent of the towns income. Please keep it more-or-less civil. 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. In an email to her May 29, 2019, Mike Jones defended the stop, and the ability to ticket outside of Brookside. Sorry for the typo, the mayor wrote. I was the one that informed him that Mike Jones was in Washington D.C. and that Bo was the acting chief.. "Their whole financial existence starts to spiral, and it was all over a light on their car not working.". Brookside Police Department Contact Information Address, Phone Number, and Fax Number for Brookside Police Department, a Police Department, at Main Street, Brookside AL. I just know that the police departments not gonna be able to come back from this, she said. Additional Information. 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. Thats a 1,478% increase, with 1.7 tows for every household in town. Since this involves a personnel matter, the Town has no further comment. The town of Brookside confirmed that Chief Mike Jones resigned from his position in a brief press release Tuesday afternoon. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The town now faces 13 lawsuits. Please keep your posts factual and post links to reliable sources. Brookside's police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. The audits show, however, how the town came to depend on the ticket money. State agencies have since launched audits and investigations of police there, and officials such as Alabama Lt. Gov. 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. Its a former mining town, its population about the same as it was a decade ago. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. He resigned as chief of the Brookside department last week, days after AL.coms original report on Brookside. They let her out of jail at midnight, long after her family had made bond. 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. called for the second town hall meeting this week. People stopped by Brookside police more than a mile and half outside the town limits. 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. The goals should include elevating professionalism at each level of law enforcement and civilian oversight. 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. The suit also names 23 current and former officers as individual defendants. Brooksides police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. Minnifield says he was a passenger in car stopped for driving with an improper tag, and that he was detained, among other things. 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. It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. CountyOffice.org does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Fourth, Brookside should avoid over-policing and overly broad traffic enforcement which creates the appearance of ticketing for revenue. Written with the support of Columbia Universitys Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights. Another town hall is scheduled for Thursday at 6 pm at Birminghams Carver High School. Tiny Brooksides style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. And local court officials have thrown out or called into question more than 100 cases involving Brookside police. 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.. The deputy described a Brookside badge with a chief indicator at the bottom. The conclusion reads: We conclude our report by recommending that new Brookside Police Department leadership adopt specific policies aimed at targeting its law enforcement efforts in more strategic ways. "It's the wild, Wild West, and they created their own wild, Wild West.". Bill Dawson, a lawyer in Birmingham, said he's had about two dozen people contact him with allegations, but for years, many have been too reluctant to complain. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Subscribe to our WBRC newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email. Turman said it critical to hold officers to a high standard. Because I am a police officer.. As we have seen, overly aggressive traffic enforcement is not the way forward. I feel bad for those guys who struggle, Perez said. The town faces several state investigations, and has brought in outside help to rebuild the department. He lent his car to a friend, who was pulled over and arrested for drug possession. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. Will Ainsworth, have said Brookside and towns that use overly aggressive policing to fill their coffers must change. Police Chief Mike Jones has since resigned, Lt. Gov. Thats why I hesitated to fight it. He waved it around the restaurant, in front of customers and staff. 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. 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 23 current and former police officers conspired to take money and property from drivers. Careful examination of individual officer behavior is also important. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Monday afternoon former Birmingham Police Officer Montague Minnifield became at least the eighth person to sue Brookside over its police and court systems. 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.. I think its one of those situations that could possibly bring in the feds with some oversight, he 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. 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 courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Givan is holding a letter asking for the resignation of Mayor Mike Bryan. Brookside Police Department of Brookside, AL spotted in the Jefferson County Sheriff Department District at Roberta Road and Cherry Avenue., And in July, Brookside Police Department of Brookside, AL operating outside its city limits. All rights reserved (About Us). Will Ainsworth has requested an audit of Brooksides town and police force, and lawmakers across party lines have called for bills to help curb small-town policing for profit on Alabama Interstates. Asked in December how many officers were on staff, he refused to say, citing security concerns, though police staff sizes are reported regularly to the government for public consumption. She had an asthma attack and a panic attack, but when she knocked on the door to alert a guard, a jailer said if she continued to knock she would be charged with attempting to escape. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT) As the Brookside Police Department debacle continues, the call for Mayor Mike Bryan and other leaders to resign still rings among those who have been victims by the city's officers. AL.com story revealed a department so intent on ticketing and criminalizing motorists, arrested Savelle for public intoxication and two counts of harassment that night. "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 NBC affiliate WVTM in Birmingham. Between April 2018 and June 2020, they handed out 406 of those tickets, or about 15 a month, according to documents filed in the lawsuit. Brookside Police did patrol the 1.5-mile stretch of Interstate 22 within their jurisdiction and wrote tickets that brought in $82,467 in fines. What I had watched in court with the use of this particular charge, I mean, just to be quite frank, it offended me that a court would act that way and that a city would act that way toward people who really dont have that kind of money, he testified. By last summer, he said in a deposition, Brookside had hired eight additional full-time officers and several part-timers. Citizen and officer safety, and protection of constitutional rights, should be among the prime goals of such training. However, our analysis did find significant evidence of selective enforcement with respect to warning tickets. 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. 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. A department of nine officers in a 1,253-person town is far larger than average. "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. She was also charged with resisting arrest. Jones lawyer, Bryan, did not return calls today. Sheriff Pettway said those who face charges in Brookside and want to ensure justice can get a bond and appeal their case. 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. He swore hed seen the cop from a distance and was careful as he braked. We encourage Brookside to form more partnerships with local, state and federal authorities to fully take back the town. The complaint seeks return of property and damages. Kimberlee Hudgens was a dispatcher at the Brookside Police Department at the time of Savelles Hoover arrest. It did not feature a breakout of the police department. Eventually she was given an inhaler and treated by paramedics. There are only 1,253 people in Brookside, and one store, the Dollar General. Stephanie Franklin, a Jefferson County employee, told AL.com she was a passenger in a car stopped last year for an expired tag. We dont care about tickets, Jones said. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, originally filed on behalf of Cory Thomas, are Thomas; Tinetta Jackson; Keyarah Smith; Ben Blackwell; James Donahue; Gerald Smith; Brittany Todd; and Zachary Harris. 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. The Brookside police staff, based on this data, came to one officer for every 84 residents in January.