He lent his car to a friend, who was pulled over and arrested for drug possession. They are sworn Law Enforcement Officers certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards Training (sic) Commission. Jones again as Mayor Bryan nodded said the goal of the department is only to help people. Her lawyers argue that the city uses obscure possible violations to justify stopping and searching passersby, hoping to add more offenses in a sort of highway lottery to fill the coffers. Jones said crime when he took over was higher than it appeared from numbers the town reported to the state. Please keep it more-or-less civil. EOG was set up to provide security services for athletic events and other gatherings. We had no knowledge of Mike Jones whereabouts after his resignation January 25, Mayor Mike Bryan said. 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. She agrees that there was selective enforcement. And theyre saying they were nowhere near Brookside.. AL.com also sought connection through Brookside officials. Officials from the examiners office were believed to visit Brookside last week. They were shining these flashlights in my car and it was daylight. The police wont do anything, Savelle is quoted in the report as saying. Sheriff Pettway said those who face charges in Brookside and want to ensure justice can get a bond and appeal their case. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. James Sebestain Bo Savelle III (Photo courtesy of Hoover Police). An investigator with the AG responded to her, and she spelled it out again in 2020. It is what happened after the stop that is most concerning to him. 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. Will Ainsworth, have said Brookside and towns that use overly aggressive policing to fill their coffers must change. Kimberlee Hudgens was a dispatcher at the Brookside Police Department at the time of Savelles Hoover arrest. In an email to her May 29, 2019, Mike Jones defended the stop, and the ability to ticket outside of Brookside. He resigned as chief of the Brookside department last week, days after AL.coms original report on Brookside. He is still torn, wondering if he should have fought the town harder. Brookside, Alabama - a poor town, 70% white, 21% black with a small but growing Hispanic population and a median income "well below the state average" has made national news because of the Brookside Police Department (BPD). I think it could be more.. And it broke her heart, it broke my heart.. Fairness and real justice, I believe, is something people are looking for when it comes to law enforcement. This analysis suggests that whites receive substantially more favorable treatment with respect to warnings than other groups.. Smart, targeted strategies administered in an even-handed fashion will maximize results and public support for Brookside. The Alabama Legislature this session passed a bill in response to Brookside that would cap at 10 percent the amount of revenue from fines and fees that a municipality can take in. Savelle was second in command at Brookside, which came under fire two weeks ago when an AL.com story revealed a department so intent on ticketing and criminalizing motorists that by 2020 it came to draw half the towns revenue from fines and forfeitures. Savelle was in the program for up-and-coming police officers in Helena, while Mike Jones was a patrol officer there, he said. 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. She turned on her lights, according to her lawsuit, because of the approaching darkness. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. It was something that I should not have been stopped for, Brumlow said in sworn testimony. 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. 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. But Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared after that, and the towns law-enforcement goals and its reputation changed. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. He was very ugly from the start.. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. The town also provided a set of police stats Jones presented to the Brookside council to push for more resources and authority. Bryan served as president pro tem of the council for years, and performed the duties of mayor during the long illness of his predecessor. 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. Most of the vehicles Brookside Police drive are unmarked, and tinted. And its not an idle threat. held the first town hall, in which 200 people gathered, 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. In a two-year period between 2018 and 2020 Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared more than 640 percent and now make up half the citys total income. 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. Last year, based on Jones testimony, Brookside had at least one officer for every 144 residents. I cant stand them., In a statement today, Turman said In this case, we had a young deputy that was trying to be respectful to a supposed veteran officer and gave him a break. She was not speeding, or breaking the law, she argued in the suit. The affidavit says Jones told the Covington deputy he was the chief in Brookside, a town a couple hundred miles north, just past Birmingham. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. But an officer grabbed the phone and threw it to the ground, breaking it, the lawsuit says. The deputy described a Brookside badge with a chief indicator at the bottom. CNN's Nick Valencia. He was drunk and disorderly and harassed a married couple, according to a Hoover offense report. County Office is not affiliated with any government agency. The primary function of the Police Department is deterring crime, stopping crimes in progress, investigating crimes, and serving as first responders for emergencies and situations that threaten public safety. Before the hiring blitz, Brookside's one full-time officer and several part-timers patrolled the city and its stretch of Interstate 22, writing tickets worth about $82,467 in fines. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. "There is no coming back from this. Givan is holding a letter asking for the resignation of Mayor Mike Bryan. "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?" 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. He feels the police saw him as prey, and treated him as such. I can stand a thief better than a dirty cop. They let her out of jail at midnight, long after her family had made bond. Michelle Jones, of Forestdale, has fought the Brookside police department for three years. He swore hed seen the cop from a distance and was careful as he braked. Citizen and officer safety, and protection of constitutional rights, should be among the prime goals of such training. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. 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. APOST oversees police certification in Alabama. You cant do whats going on over there.. Franklin said she believes the only reason she wasnt arrested was because she works for Jefferson County. Sheriff Pettway gaped at the Brookside ratio. He was charged with misdemeanor possession, but also five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, for: The names of the officers were not listed on the tickets in secretive Brookside. I was the one that informed him that Mike Jones was in Washington D.C. and that Bo was the acting chief.. Jones was the highest earning officer before his resignation, at $16 an hour, not counting overtime. Former Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones, in a photo taken by WAAO News' Blaine Wilson, after turning himself in. He said people have stories about their cars getting towed and being left on the side of the road, then being charged by both the town and the impound company to get their vehicles back, on top of daily storage fees. Officers in Brookside have been accused in lawsuits of manufacturing reasons for traffic stops, overcharging and "making up laws," AL.com reported. In addition, she said, counting on fines and fees collected from people in lower income and marginalized communities only serves to punish them further. "Brookside will continue to cooperate with all appropriate authorities to ensure that a full investigation of these issues are completed," he said. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. requested an audit of Brooksides town and police force, have called for bills to help curb small-town policing, sometimes appropriated by white supremacists, in the case of Rev. 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. For most of the past decade it saw little crimeonly 55 . People stand in line, waiting to get into the courtroom. All rights reserved (About Us). 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. Not for speeding, or running a stop sign, or any violation. I saw him and we looked eye to eye, the Chelsea business owner said. She is unsure if he called the man. Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. Another woman, Emily Sierra, emailed AL.com to say she was pulled over in Brookside three years ago for a single flash of her lights to warn oncoming traffic about a speed trap. 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. But fines and. 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.. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. You know, weve had a lot of issues with Brookside.. A Brookside officer ticketed Brumlow under Alabama code section 32-5-77, which her lawyers contend does not contain a crime. And so thats why I decided to fight.. He decided to plead guilty and pay the fines after seeing how others were treated. The interim chief and Town leaders announced reforms within the police department in February 2022. 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. 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. The next day she spoke to the husband of the woman who complained to Hoover police. Brookside has 1,253 people, according to the most recent census. Police Trap, she posted in June of 2019. 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 quit Brookside once he came back, she said. Jones resigned January 25th, six days after AL.com published a story outlining Brookside policing and a court system that collected 49 percent of the towns 2020 revenue from fines and forfeitures, a practice lambasted by residents, drivers, top law enforcement officials and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. It was nearing dusk, and as she drove into the neighborhood she didnt think much about the unmarked black SUV with tinted windows on the side of the road. Brookside Mayor Mike Bryan said in a statement, We cannot comment on the lawsuits filed Monday. The resignations include former chief Mike Jones, who built the tiny towns department from a one-man agency in 2018 to one that, according to data the town provided to AL.com in response to a public records request, included 13 full time officers and two reserves. John Walker was stopped in Brookside for following too closely. Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigns Jan. 25, 2022. Its a former mining town, its population about the same as it was a decade ago. The special report concludes with six recommendations for Brookside leaders and the Brookside Police Department. Another town hall is scheduled for Thursday at 6 pm at Birminghams Carver High School. 43 Brookside should consider such a policy. 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. Perez is Hispanic, and his passenger was a Brookside resident, also Hispanic, who didnt have her purse with her, Perez said. 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. She pulled to the side of the road as the SUV pulled behind her, and a wrecker simultaneously parked nearby. Will Ainsworth want to know how such a department could have existed. Related: Pastor, sister say rogue police force sought revenge. Brookside's police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer. A third calls for guidelines on how cities and towns handle municipal courts. Because I am a police officer.. 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. He returned to his job as second in command with consent of the town council, Hudgens said. They gave me a ticket for running a stop sign. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. But Savelle would not be fired. The Town of Brookside participates in the affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, it says. We are not safer because of it.. Suggest Listing The towns administrative expenditures rose 40% and overall spending jumped 112%, from $553,000 in 2018 to $1.2 million in 2020. I think its one of those situations that could possibly bring in the feds with some oversight, he said. He agreed to represent his niece in her traffic case. Jones could not be reached for comment Friday. This is shocking, said Crowder. Find 12 external resources related to Brookside Police Department. But not in the courtroom. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. And while sitting in court I heard that half the court was also stopped for the same thing.. 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. That meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Training Center in Fultondale, 3500 Happy Hollow Lane. The town announced his departure in a statement, but would not comment further. It parked a riot control vehicle townspeople call it a tank outside the municipal complex and community center. In Brookside, complaints about retaliation have come time and time again, as in the case of Rev. The special report concludes with six recommendations for Brookside leaders and the Brookside Police Department. 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. 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. 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. Theres no way I was going to run that stop sign.. Find agency contact, demographics, type, population served and more. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Find Arrest Records, Police Records, and Warrants related to Brookside Police Department. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. Current Mayor Mike Bryan has called for Brookside police to stop patrolling Interstate 22, except for wrecks and emergencies. 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 The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts released an audit into Brookside in the Spring of 2022. Not speeding, not swerving, just using the left lane. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. This story was published with the support of a grant from Columbia Universitys Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights. 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. The officer said he would take them both to jail because she didnt have her ID. 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