CNN's Nick Valencia. Smart, targeted strategies administered in an even-handed fashion will maximize results and public support for Brookside. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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 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. And local court officials have thrown out or called into question more than 100 cases involving Brookside police. I just knew that I did not want to be part of a workplace that did such low-down things.. 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. But Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared after that, and the towns law-enforcement goals and its reputation changed. The town faces several state investigations, and has brought in outside help to rebuild the department. 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. 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. Do you understand what you are charged with? the judge asked on that first Thursday in December. The police wont do anything, Savelle is quoted in the report as saying. We encourage Brookside to form more partnerships with local, state and federal authorities to fully take back the town. It is the second time in four days a former Brookside police officer has been jailed. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. [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. 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. Perez is angry at his treatment. 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. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Outside the jail this morning, the lawyer told Blaine Wilson of WAAO News in Andalusia that Jones is innocent and he will prove it in court. He lent his car to a friend, who was pulled over and arrested for drug possession. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. But lawyers and law enforcement officers across central Alabama have raised questions about things in Brookside they say they have never otherwise come across. She thought the complaint was long forgotten or closed. Will Ainsworth, have said Brookside and towns that use overly aggressive policing to fill their coffers must change. 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. About a year ago, the former head of the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police received several complaints about the Brookside Police Department. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. In his call to Jones this week, the investigator said he could not tell me anything because of the ongoing investigation, Jones said. That document budgeted $646,620 to the police this year. 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. The officer said he would take them both to jail because she didnt have her ID. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. The town's median household income is less than $40,000, according to demographic data. Arrests on Brookside warrants went from zero to 243 in the span of two years, according to statistics Chief Jones presented to the council. Such an appearance is created when a vastly disproportionate number of citations are issued given the towns population, and a high number of citations involve minor mechanical and traffic offenses. 2711 Municipal Dr. Brookside, AL 35036. It went from towing 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020 each carrying fines. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Mayor Bryan said he inherited a bad situation when he took over as mayor in November, and was fooled by Jones. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer. 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. They seek damages against the individual police officers for wrongful fines, forfeitures, and arrests, including mental anguish damages., In trying to establish a conspiracy, the complaint contends that the town of Brookside, its court and its officers, exist to extract the payment of unlawful fines from the people.. But it's also prevalent across the country. Which is exactly what the town is banking on, according to those who have watched Brookside grow into one of Alabamas biggest, most troublesome traffic traps. All Rights Reserved. Name Brookside Police Department Suggest Edit Address 208 Main Street Brookside , Alabama , 35036 Phone 205-674-9275 Fax 205-674-9547 Brookside Police Department Details Type BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - WBRC confirmed Mike Jones resigned as Brookside Police Chief. Leadership should be aware that large-scale statistical analyses are inherently untimely and mask individual behavior. She was not speeding, or breaking the law, she argued in the suit. The complaint seeks return of property and damages. Sorry for the typo, the mayor wrote. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. "What if $150 is the cost of choosing between feeding my child, getting their medicine or paying this ticket?" On the other end was a caller IDd as coming from the Brookside Town Hall, she said. For most of the past decade it saw little crimeonly 55 . I should have brought a lawyer, but right now my time is not there, he said. He swore hed seen the cop from a distance and was careful as he braked. 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.. 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 accounts told to AL.com detail harassment and intimidation. The Brookside Police Department's practices include stacking charges so that a single violation results in a handful of charges, with corresponding fines, fees and court costs for each. 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. Thats why I hesitated to fight it. An investigator with the AG responded to her, and she spelled it out again in 2020. "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?" At Brookside municipal court, the courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Michelle Jones, of Forestdale, has fought the Brookside police department for three years. 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. If you had more officers and more productivity youd have more, Jones said. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. He feels the police saw him as prey, and treated him as such. This is extortion., The 46-page complaint claims each of the named police officers, under former police chief Mike Jones, knew that they were violating the constitutional, statutory, and common law rights of the Classes pled herein, and did so to create more revenue for the Town of Brookside so that they, in turn, could enjoy the fruits of that revenue in the form of pay, benefits, equipment, and receipt of the profits from policing as described herein.. Fallout over the Brookside revelations continues. Police put her in a patrol car and searched her vehicle for drugs. Jones testified his officers wear gray uniforms with no Brookside insignias. 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. 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.". 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. called for a financial audit by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, Mike Bryan has called for Brookside police to stop patrolling Interstate 22, 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, Givan and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway want to hear more, and will hold a town hall meeting, 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. APOST oversees police certification in Alabama. Find 12 external resources related to Brookside Police Department. She turned on her lights, according to her lawsuit, because of the approaching darkness. In 2018, when the town had one full-time police officer and a few part-timers, it reported no serious crimes to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center. The Brookside Police Department is located on Municipal Drive, and the Chief of Police is Jason Springfield. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. He built the department from a one-man operation to a ticket-hungry department with 10 blacked-out. Savelle made $15.82 an hour, and all others made less. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Please keep it more-or-less civil. Tuesday February 1, 2022. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Eventually she was given an inhaler and treated by paramedics. We dont like writing tickets.. He and members of the town council complained of. Brookside Police Department in Brookside, Alabama, get driving directions from your location, Birmingham Police Department - North Precinct, Department Of Public Safety Highway Patrol Post - Birmingham, Jefferson County Pistol Permits & Gun Licenses, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Most Wanted Sex Offenders, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Offender Search, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Website, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Website (Alabama), Brookside public safety & filing complaints, Brookside Police Department jobs and employment. Find Arrest Records, Police Records, and Warrants related to Brookside Police Department. He is still torn, wondering if he should have fought the town harder. All they do is take peoples rights. Brookside has two drug-sniffing dogs one named K9 Cash to search the cars of stopped motorists. Months of research and dozens of interviews by AL.com found that Brooksides finances are rocket-fueled by tickets and aggressive policing. Its findings will be passed along to appropriate state agencies, if necessary. 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. . A department of nine officers in a 1,253-person town is far larger than average. Find 6 Police Departments within 8.3 miles of Brookside Police Department. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Police Trap, she posted in June of 2019. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. Savelle was 32 at the time of his Hoover arrest, and was shown to have previous arrests for public intoxication, DUI, public lewdness, as well as multiple drug charges, the Hoover report said. I was just looking at him like, so this is what this stop is about?. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer. 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. Instead, the arresting officer was listed as Agent JS, while the assisting officer was Agent AR.. Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. Mayor Mike Bryan late Wednesday said there was no conspiracy, The Town has just been made aware of this amended lawsuit, Bryan told AL.com. One, by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur would force cities to make the amount of fines and fees they collect public. We dont care about tickets, Jones said. Brookside, Ala., may only have 10 kilometres of roads, one store and a volunteer fire department, but its police force has an armoured truck; two police dogs; nine unmarked vehicles, seven. His statement said he is not taking questions. "It's the wild, Wild West, and they created their own wild, Wild West.". Officers in Brookside have been accused in lawsuits of manufacturing reasons for traffic stops, overcharging and "making up laws," AL.com reported. EOG was set up to provide security services for athletic events and other gatherings. Will Ainsworth requested a state audit, and amid calls for state and federal investigations. AL.com in January reported how Brookside used fines and forfeitures to bring in almost half the town revenue in 2020, and how its police department grew exponentially under Chief Jones. The deputy described a Brookside badge with a chief indicator at the bottom. Most of the vehicles Brookside Police drive are unmarked, and tinted. Over the last several months, the Brookside Police Department has faced scrutiny over its ticketing practices, as well as alleged corruption. 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. 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. Sheriff Pettway gaped at the Brookside ratio. I think it could be more.. People who were detained by Brookside officers beyond a traffic stop. Ainsworth, also a Republican, told AL.com that his office would look at legislative options to determine how to prevent towns from taking advantage of drivers passing through on highways, a problem lawmakers acknowledged is happening across the state. Brookside, Alabama, a former mining community of about 1,250 with a median household income less than $40,000, has no traffic lights and only a handful of two-lane roads, yet it raked in so. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Mayor Bryan dismissed the complaints of those who must appear in court. 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. That meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow Lane. Former Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones was arrested May 2, 2022 in Covington County, Ala., charged with impersonating a police officer. 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. CountyOffice.org does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Police stacked fines on them, often towed their cars and generated revenue that went right back into the police department. 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. He was very ugly from the start.. The courtroom and the Chief of police is Jason Springfield one named K9 Cash to search the of... Complaint was long forgotten or closed but right now my time is not there he! 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