Scott Shackford | 1.19.2022 1:20 PM. In a report published by AL.com, figures pointed to half of the town's revenue had come from an increase in fines and forfeitures, including officers taking property during traffic stops. Most of the vehicles Brookside Police drive are unmarked, and tinted. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - WBRC confirmed Mike Jones resigned as Brookside Police Chief. By last summer, he said in a deposition, Brookside had hired eight additional full-time officers and several part-timers. We dont like writing tickets.. By 2020 officers in the sleepy town were undergoing SWAT training and dressing in riot gear, even as the city continued with only a volunteer fire department. Ive been irritated in these comments that come from Mike Bryan, McDonald said. Jones was the highest earning officer before his resignation, at $16 an hour, not counting overtime. WVTM 13 Digital. She vividly recalls the events of that night and the following day. But my behavior was right. All rights reserved (About Us). Arrests on Brookside warrants went from zero to 243 in the span of two years, according to statistics Chief Jones presented to the council. Covington County's affidavit for a warrant to arrest former Brookside police chief Mike Jones. Town leadership should be proactive in providing oversight, accountability, and checks and balances in the Departments management and ensure that police operations comply with regulatory, judicial, ethical, and financial safeguards. From 2018 to 2020, spending on police rose from $79,000 to $524,000, a 560% increase. Ramon Perez felt that way as well, sitting in the courtroom and hearing defendants plead to the same charges over and over. Leadership should be aware that large-scale statistical analyses are inherently untimely and mask individual behavior. Advocates for justice reform, cops in other jurisdictions, even Jefferson Countys top law enforcement officials, have begun to question the towns tactics, and its need for an expanding force. On July 10th, 2019, 16 days after she paid her ticket, her phone rang. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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 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. called for the second town hall meeting this week. An investigator with the AG responded to her, and she spelled it out again in 2020. That meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow Lane. All Rights Reserved. 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. It has had a continued practice of stopping and ticketing scores of vehicles daily, doing so without probable cause or reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.. Yet the town with no traffic lights collected $487 in fines and forfeitures in 2020 for every man, woman and child, though many of those fined were merely passing by on I-22. John Archibald: Brookside is an extreme example of a type of policing that's going on all over this country. It was something that I should not have been stopped for, Brumlow said in sworn testimony. I just knew that I did not want to be part of a workplace that did such low-down things.. 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. Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham has demanded the resignations of Bryan, Brookside City Attorney Mark Parnell and Municipal Judge Jim Wooten. Turman said it critical to hold officers to a high standard. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. 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. 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. You cant do whats going on over there.. Police put her in a patrol car and searched her vehicle for drugs. 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. You may not use this site for the purposes of furnishing consumer reports about search subjects or for any use prohibited by the FCRA. Fifth, the town needs help in fighting drug trafficking. 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. 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. But Jones was not the Chief at Brookside when he held himself out to be, using deception to disrespect that young deputy. Arrest powers are not confined to city limits or jurisdictional boundaries except within the State of Alabama.. "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?" It showed that total arrests custodial, misdemeanor and felony rose 1,109% from 2018 to 2020. 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). Not for speeding, or running a stop sign, or any violation. Savelle on Monday resigned from the Brookside Department, hours after AL.com asked city officials about his past. The town's median household income is less than $40,000, according to demographic data. 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. Prosecutor Parnell issued a statement saying he did nothing wrong. 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. In 2018, reporters for ABC 33/40 said they asked the former mayor of Brookside about Jones financial problems when he was hired. Brooksides police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. 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. 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. The deputy has since also issued a speeding ticket to go along with the impersonation charge.. The town of 1,253 just north of Birmingham reported just 55 serious crimes to the state in the entire eight year period between 2011 and 2018 none of them homicide or rape. Jones is not alone in complaining about Brookside. But he also worries for relatives and employees who live in Brookside. Brookside until recently was known for its quirky Russian food festival and the states only onion-domed Russian Orthodox Church. Brookside is a poor town, 70% white, 21% Black, with a small but growing Hispanic population and a median income well below the state average. Jones and Bryan said neither the town nor the police department relies on the revenue officers bring in. There were two cars and one SUV that surrounded my car and police were everywhere, she wrote. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Seven Brookside police officers have resigned since details of the towns aggressive policing strategy gained national attention in January. And while sitting in court I heard that half the court was also stopped for the same thing.. The report was released on September 29, 2022. Perform a free Brookside, AL public property records search, including property appraisals, unclaimed property, ownership searches, lookups, tax records, titles, deeds, and liens. Hall did appeal, and a Jefferson County judge ultimately dismissed the charges. This is the statement from the Town of Brookside: Mike Jones resigned as the Police Chief for the Town of Brookside. CNN's Nick Valencia. State agencies have since launched audits and investigations of police there, and officials such as Alabama Lt. Gov. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. 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. 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. Brookside officials this afternoon said in a statement that the Tahoe is registered in Jones name and does not belong to Brookside. He decided to plead guilty and pay the fines after seeing how others were treated. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) -The town of Brookside is facing another lawsuit. The police wont do anything, Savelle is quoted in the report as saying. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. We get calls about Brookside quite regularly because they really go outside their jurisdiction to stop people, Pettway said. 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. Kimberlee Hudgens was a dispatcher at the Brookside Police Department at the time of Savelles Hoover arrest. We respect the process and its outcomes., Montague Minnifield talks passionately about his experience with Brookside Police. When he got to court Dec. 2, he saw scores of people just like him lining up to stand before Judge Jim Wooten, complaining of penny-ante crimes and harassment by officers. 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. He built the department from a one-man operation to a ticket-hungry department with 10 blacked-out vehicles, two drug-sniffing dogs and a riot control vehicle. He lent his car to a friend, who was pulled over and arrested for drug possession. Attempts to reach Savelle for comment were unsuccessful. 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. 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. State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, who represents the area surrounding Brookside, has called for the resignation of Bryan, Municipal Judge Jim Wooten and City Attorney/Prosecutor Mark Parnell. Written with the support of Columbia Universitys Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Fairness and real justice, I believe, is something people are looking for when it comes to law enforcement. Detective Johnson had called and asked that I come to the Brookside Police Department to talk to them. For context, Birmingham city would have to more than triple the size of its force to equal a ratio of that in Brookside. Johnson, though it is unclear if Brookside had a Detective Johnson. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The town also provided a set of police stats Jones presented to the Brookside council to push for more resources and authority. In December the mayor provided AL.com a budget document, based on previous years audits. 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. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts.. Some of the charges Savelle has faced predate his hiring at Brookside. The AGs office this week would not confirm or deny to AL.com the existence of any case involving Brookside. She was not speeding, or breaking the law, she argued in the suit. 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. Its very uncertain as a citizen of Brookside now.. Sandra Jo Harris, a 52-year-old grandmother, claims in a lawsuit she pulled off I-22 at Cherry Avenue on Jan. 8, 2020, as she often did when she went to visit her daughter. During his time as a council member, Mike Bryan voted for and helped to pass ordinances strengthening the Brookside Police Department in addition to passing city budgets with revenues increasing over 600%, she said. The transformation of Brookside's police department began in 2018, under the direction of long-serving and now late Mayor Roger McCondichie. And so thats why I decided to fight.. But fines and. I wouldnt be surprised if they opened up an investigation. Brookside police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. In 2020 they came to $610,000. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the police department that serves the area, where Mike Hale is the sheriff. One of those visions: increasing officer pay to $18 per hour with better benefits in order . She pulled to the side of the road as the SUV pulled behind her, and a wrecker simultaneously parked nearby. Brookside has two drug-sniffing dogs one named K9 Cash to search the cars of stopped motorists. 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 were doing the same thing to every person that was there. 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. Its more important now than ever before that law enforcement maintain high levels of professionalism and integrity, he said. 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! Hed been stopped for rolling the stop sign, which he disputes, and speeding, which he also disputes. Allan Armstrong, one of a group of lawyers who filed the complaint, said Brookside violated basic American rights. People stand in line, waiting to get into the courtroom. All rights reserved (About Us). 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. After learning of those statements, Rep. Givan again said the three need to resign. 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. 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. Thats why I hesitated to fight it. 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. 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