The chief of police at a northern Jefferson County police department resigned on Tuesday. Its very uncertain as a citizen of Brookside now.. Michelle Jones said she has had friends, acquaintances and family members stopped in Brookside. 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. The city is facing at least five federal lawsuits related to its policing. The Brookside Police Department is located on Municipal Drive, and the Chief of Police is Jason Springfield. 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. Yet the Brookside stories come at an alarming rate. Yet Savelle was right-hand man to then-Brookside Chief Mike Jones, and since Jones was out of town during the arrest, Savelle served as acting chief when Hoover police approached him at Dave & Busters. 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.. The report was released on September 29, 2022. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the police department that serves the area, where Mike Hale is the sheriff. Thats a 1,478% increase, with 1.7 tows for every household in town. 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. One, by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur would force cities to make the amount of fines and fees they collect public. She has watched and documented stops there. Brookside's police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. First, it should avoid racial profiling and selective enforcement. No communitysmall or large can do it alone. Fourth, Brookside should avoid over-policing and overly broad traffic enforcement which creates the appearance of ticketing for revenue. The The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts released an audit into Brookside in the Spring of 2022. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Read more stories from our Banking on Crime series: Updated 10/10/22 to say the woman accosted at Dave & Busters did wish to press charges. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. One of those visions: increasing officer pay to $18 per hour with better benefits in order . (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. 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 material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. All rights reserved (About Us). "What if $150 is the cost of choosing between feeding my child, getting their medicine or paying this ticket?" Because I am a police officer.. Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigns Jan. 25, 2022. . YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. He feels the police saw him as prey, and treated him as such. If we have to come get ya, well make you famous!, When you look at their Facebook pages its almost like they are bullies. The deputy has since also issued a speeding ticket to go along with the impersonation charge.. Ive seen it, DA Carr said. In the meantime, well continue to make good on our promises to reform policing in Brookside, said Mayor Bryan on Wednesday. You may not use this site for the purposes of furnishing consumer reports about search subjects or for any use prohibited by the FCRA. But in 2018 it began building a police empire, hiring more and more officers to blanket its six miles of roads and mile-and-a-half jurisdiction on Interstate 22. Which is another problem altogether, Sheriff Pettway said. Givan and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway want to hear more, and will hold a town hall meeting today. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. Lt. Gov. Police Chief Mike Jones has since resigned, Lt. Gov. 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. "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. But not in the courtroom. Thats 49% of the small towns skyrocketing revenue. He was drunk and disorderly and harassed a married couple, according to a Hoover offense report. It showed that total arrests custodial, misdemeanor and felony rose 1,109% from 2018 to 2020. 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. 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 charged Harris with flickering her lights or nuisance of casting lights from motor vehicle on real property at night, which she argues did not happen and eventually was dropped. I was scared to death even though I was doing nothing wrong.. There are only 1,253 people in Brookside, and one store, the Dollar General. John Archibald: Brookside is an extreme example of a type of policing that's going on all over this country. 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. But on Wednesday morning, she said, she got a call from the Alabama Attorney Generals investigator who had worked the case after her complaint was filed in 2019. He saw so many people trying to park in the grassy field outside the municipal building that police had to direct traffic. We had no knowledge of Mike Jones whereabouts after his resignation January 25, Mayor Mike Bryan said. Source: Yahoo Images. 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. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. He informed me that my case was never closed, said Jones, who lives in Forestdale near Birmingham. I should have brought a lawyer, but right now my time is not there, he said. She agrees that there was selective enforcement. The man is still afraid of retaliation, and asked for anonymity. 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. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Address, Phone Number, and Fax Number for Brookside Police Department, a Police Department, at Main Street, Brookside AL. His statement said he is not taking questions. He was cited for driving with a suspended license a matter he thought hed cleared up but he doesnt blame Brookside for that. 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. 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. Jones and Bryan said neither the town nor the police department relies on the revenue officers bring in. State agencies have since launched audits and investigations of police there, and officials such as Alabama Lt. Gov. "There is no coming back from this. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. They own the town.. By last summer, he said in a deposition, Brookside had hired eight additional full-time officers and several part-timers. And local court officials have thrown out or called into question more than 100 cases involving Brookside police. Despite that, the Shelby County case was dropped without explanation under the condition that he pay $100. Hoover police arrested Savelle for public intoxication and two counts of harassment that night, saying he was intoxicated to the point of being a danger to himself and to others. The woman told police she did wish to press charges. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. I have never been in any trouble only had one speeding ticket. Its unheard of.. It is what happened after the stop that is most concerning to him. 205-674-9275. The complaint seeks to establish four separate sub classes: Lawyers for the plaintiffs want, among other things, all fines and convictions voided and seized property returned. But Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared after that, and the towns law-enforcement goals and its reputation changed. 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. I was just looking at him like, so this is what this stop is about?. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. Officers, dressed completely in dark, unmarked uniforms approached her, and one accused her of flickering her lights to warn others of their presence, her suit alleges. 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. 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. Terms and Conditions. Months of research and dozens of interviews by AL.com found that Brooksides finances are rocket-fueled by tickets and aggressive policing. The audits show, however, how the town came to depend on the ticket money. 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. Brandon McDonald, another former dispatcher the first hired by Brookside after Chief Jones took over in 2018 and created the position said Jones had a long association with Savelle. It parked a riot control vehicle townspeople call it a tank outside the municipal complex and community center. Arrests on Brookside warrants went from zero to 243 in the span of two years, according to statistics Chief Jones presented to the council. Thats why I hesitated to fight it. It has had a continued practice of stopping and ticketing scores of vehicles daily, doing so without probable cause or reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.. No one can objectively look at this and conclude this is good government that is keeping us safer.. Hall did appeal, and a Jefferson County judge ultimately dismissed the charges. Leadership should be aware that large-scale statistical analyses are inherently untimely and mask individual behavior. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. 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.. 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. John Walker was stopped in Brookside for following too closely. 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). Will Ainsworth want to know how such a department could have existed. Ultimately another officer took Perez to his friends house to retrieve her ID, he said. Vincent Witt and his sister, Tareya, who said the small police department fabricated charges against them and listed them as fugitives because Witt complained about an officers racist remark. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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.. All rights reserved. Jones lawyer, Bryan, did not return calls today. 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). soon after reports of the small towns aggressive policing, AL.com detailed how the department preyed on drivers. Disparities in the rate at which drivers were stopped do not appear to be significantly different from the rate in which drivers racial and ethnic groups populate 4 Jefferson County. In December the mayor provided AL.com a budget document, based on previous years audits. 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. Harris lawyers contend she was taken to the Brookside jail, strip-searched, and told she could be jailed up to two days. "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. Because the Town is launching the independent inquiry, the February 3 and 10 monthly court sessions are postponed until a date to be determined. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) -The town of Brookside is facing another lawsuit. Dozens of people who claim they were victimized by Brookside Police have come forward to tell their stories. 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. She pulled to the side of the road as the SUV pulled behind her, and a wrecker simultaneously parked nearby. Brookside police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. Judge Wooten said he would not resign, and referred questions to the prosecutor. Jones could not be reached for comment on this report. She insists like many others stopped by Brookside police that she did not run the stop sign at all. 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. story of how the tiny town turned to aggressive ticketing to build a ballooning police force that came to provide half the towns revenue. 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. Citizen and officer safety, and protection of constitutional rights, should be among the prime goals of such training. State Representative Juandalynn Givan isnt surprised by the report. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. 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. Written with the support of Columbia Universitys Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights. In 2020 they came to $610,000. Its not about making a dollar, Jones said. 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. 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. Officer Deshawn Mark Cook, who worked in Brookside as recently as Thursday, was arrested Friday on charges of first degree rape stemming from 2021. 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. Former councilman who assumed his position last year after the death of the small towns skyrocketing revenue released September... 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