A manager at Dave & Busters in Hoover in 2019 called police on a man named James Bo Savelle III. Type: I saw him and we looked eye to eye, the Chelsea business owner said. Michelle Jones, of Forestdale, has fought the Brookside police department for three years. 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 last summer, he said in a deposition, Brookside had hired eight additional full-time officers and several part-timers. Fairness and real justice, I believe, is something people are looking for when it comes to law enforcement. John Walker was stopped in Brookside for following too closely. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. Former Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones, in a photo taken by WAAO News' Blaine Wilson, after turning himself in. The Town of Brookside forced Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff classes to give up their property and pay illegal fines through fear, intimidation, and under color of official right by imposing fines not authorized by law, seizing property without the legal right to do soand by threat of jail time unless illegal fines were paid or property unlawfully forfeited, the suit says. Hudgens, who lives in Brookside, said she is concerned for her town. Last year, based on Jones testimony, Brookside had at least one officer for every 144 residents. I wouldnt be surprised if they opened up an investigation. 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. 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. Dedicated to documenting the apparent corruption of the Town and Police of Brookside, Alabama. Tuesday February 1, 2022. Another would bar police from using unmarked cars for traffic stops. Brookside, just north of Birmingham, already faces at least 10 lawsuits about its policing. He had a net worth of $55,000 and a monthly income of $2,244, according to federal records. I was scared to death even though I was doing nothing wrong.. Hed been stopped for rolling the stop sign, which he disputes, and speeding, which he also disputes. 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. Fewer than 100 of its residents graduated college. Thats why I hesitated to fight it. Which is another problem altogether, Sheriff Pettway said. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Jones testified his officers wear gray uniforms with no Brookside insignias. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. He resigned as chief of the Brookside department last week, days after AL.coms original report on Brookside. Most of the time people get stopped, theyre going to get a ticket. I clearly did not run the stop sign as I had just seen them sitting on top of I-22 overpass. Popularity:#11 of 45 Police Departments in Jefferson County#69 of 565 Police Departments in Alabama#2,237 in Police Departments. Givan said this time she especially wants to hear from women. I could take over the whole county with numbers like that, he joked. 205-674-9275. The accounts of drivers dozens of them are strikingly similar. 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. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. The officer said We have had people stop and record us, she said, like it explained his actions.. After I told him that I would not, he reported that they have two warrants for my arrest. They would not share the footage. Jetts Towing owner Wayne Jett could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. He was very ugly from the start.. Related: Pastor, sister say rogue police force sought revenge. Givan is holding a letter asking for the resignation of Mayor Mike Bryan. But for this: The officer said the chiefs pretty upset about that post you put on Facebook. the Brookside man told AL.com. I know that.. 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 from 2018. Neither the police nor the town have responded to questions since the original story ran. She was also charged with resisting arrest. This is the statement from the Town of Brookside: Mike Jones resigned as the Police Chief for the Town of Brookside. BROOKSIDE, Ala. ( WIAT) On Thursday night, Alabama Rep. Juandalynn Givan will hold another town hall meeting as she works to take action against alleged illegal ticketing that has taken place in the Brookside Police Department. The town faces several state investigations, and has brought in outside help to rebuild the department. And the police chief has called for more. If you have a witness with you, theyre gonna issue you a warning., I felt that basically, that this was a way for them to make money to fund their city off the backs of citizens from other areas. 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. CountyOffice.org does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). 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 an officer grabbed the phone and threw it to the ground, breaking it, the lawsuit says. An audit by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts last week issued a report citing Brookside for myriad errors, including poor financial controls, missing guns and guns with no explanation. Allan Armstrong, one of a group of lawyers who filed the complaint, said Brookside violated basic American rights. The real trouble for Michelle Jones began as she started posting on her Facebook page when she saw Brookside police stopping people in places she thought were out of bounds. Ultimately another officer took Perez to his friends house to retrieve her ID, he said. Jones says she was polite to the officer, but was convinced the ticket was unfounded and given outside the Brookside police jurisdiction. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. If we have to come get ya, well make you famous!, When you look at their Facebook pages its almost like they are bullies. 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. 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. Find 6 Police Departments within 8.3 miles of Brookside Police Department. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. EOG was set up to provide security services for athletic events and other gatherings. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. In 2020, she had explained her case this way to the AGs office: The person threatened me with an arrest if I did not take down my Facebook pictures and posts of their police officers, stop sending emails to the local politicians, as well as others, and show them (Brookside police) that I understand law enforcement practices.. 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. Arrests on Brookside warrants went from zero to 243 in the span of two years, according to statistics Chief Jones presented to the council. She turned on her lights, according to her lawsuit, because of the approaching darkness. But its a common charge in Brookside. 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. The audits show, however, how the town came to depend on the ticket money. Brookside police made 4.4 arrests in 2020 for every household. But my behavior was right. Jones could not be reached for comment Friday. 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. she added. Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham has demanded the resignations of Bryan, Brookside City Attorney Mark Parnell and Municipal Judge Jim Wooten. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to let a class-action lawsuit go forward against an Alabama town accused of policing for profit with excessive fines and aggressive enforcement of local laws. 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. 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. She has watched and documented stops there. We dont have a law that says if you dont have ID, you go to jail, he said. 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. Brooksides police chief resigned in January 2022 following accusations of aggressive policing. After being pulled over on Interstate 22 for allegedly speeding in February 2021, Anyl Pascal was arrested by Brookside police and taken to jail. Police stacked fines on them, often towed their cars and generated revenue that went right back into the police department. They were doing the same thing to every person that was there. Attempts to reach Savelle for comment were unsuccessful. A man claims officers violated his civil rights and allegedly made-up charges. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. The lowest-paid officers made $12 an hour. I think it could be more.. And a Brookside man told AL.com police in the town pulled him over with blue lights and told him there would be consequences if he posted more about the police on Facebook. A police department in Brookside, Alabama, is facing allegations of policing for profit and defamation lawsuits after residents say they've received bogus charges. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - WBRC confirmed Mike Jones resigned as Brookside Police Chief. 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. 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. Police stops soared between 2018 and 2020. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The suit also names 23 current and former officers as individual defendants. We will be reviewing the details of the allegations with the Towns legal counsel. Tiny Brooksides style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. 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. 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. 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. Please keep it more-or-less civil. In his call to Jones this week, the investigator said he could not tell me anything because of the ongoing investigation, Jones said. AL.com published a story outlining Brookside policing, , former Lt. James Bo Savelle III, resigned Jan. 31. says he was a passenger in car stopped for driving with an improper tag, and that he was detained, among other things. story of how the tiny town turned to aggressive ticketing to build a ballooning police force that came to provide half the towns revenue. 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. Find Arrest Records, Police Records, and Warrants related to Brookside Police Department. The issue gained prominence in the wake of the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri, when a report by a St. Louis-area public defender group found that Black drivers in Ferguson were more likely to be stopped by police and local courts were abusing their power by charging high fines and fees for nonviolent offenses, sometimes leading to arrests when they went unpaid. I just know that the police departments not gonna be able to come back from this, she said. 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. Across the country, the average size of a force is one officer for every 588 residents, according to a Governing Magazine study that examined federal statistics. The release said the town has no further comment on Jones's resignation since it involves a "personnel matter." Current Mayor Mike Bryan has called for Brookside police to stop patrolling Interstate 22, except for wrecks and emergencies. They are sworn Law Enforcement Officers certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards Training (sic) Commission. In the meantime, well continue to make good on our promises to reform policing in Brookside, said Mayor Bryan on Wednesday. It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. They often say they had no idea why they were pulled over while passing near Brookside on Interstate 22. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. originally filed on behalf of Cory Thomas, AL.com in January reported how Brookside used fines and forfeitures, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. BROOKSIDE, Ala. ( WIAT) Tuesday's town hall called to discuss issues involving the Brookside Police Department is already causing change to happen. 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 much revenue from traffic fines and forfeitures in 2020, it amounted to almost half of its $1.2 million municipal budget. Fallout over the Brookside revelations continues. "Brookside will continue to cooperate with all appropriate authorities to ensure that a full investigation of these issues are completed," he said. after AL.coms original report on Brookside. 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. Brumlow pleaded not guilty, and had to go to court over and over again as the case was postponed. But when she did, the unmarked SUV pulled into the street, crossed the center line and sped toward her car, blue lights flashing. Tiny Brookside's style of policing under Jones has become known nationally in recent weeks. Unsure what was happening, Harris dialed 911. He was also ticketed for improper signal, though he cant even fathom how that might have occurred. People who were stopped by Brookside police and fined more than the state allows. One, by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur would force cities to make the amount of fines and fees they collect public. Not for speeding, or running a stop sign, or any violation. All rights reserved (About Us). Despite that, the Shelby County case was dropped without explanation under the condition that he pay $100. 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. McDonald, the towns first dispatcher, said he too found Bryans statement lacking. Simon led an in-depth and months long investigation into whether officers in the Brookside Police Department participated in racial profiling. Former Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones was arrested May 2, 2022 in Covington County, Ala., charged with impersonating a police officer. It frightened her, and led to more trouble. she said. Officer Deshawn Mark Cook, who worked in Brookside as recently as Thursday, was arrested Friday on charges of first degree rape stemming from 2021. She agrees that there was selective enforcement. Everybodys got a story, he said. Officers in Brookside have been accused in lawsuits of manufacturing reasons for traffic stops, overcharging and "making up laws," AL.com reported. Updated 5:15 p.m. May 2 to add Brookside response. 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. Brookside has two drug-sniffing dogs one named K9 Cash to search the cars of stopped motorists. All rights reserved (About Us). The Brookside Police Department is located on Municipal Drive, and the Chief of Police is Jason Springfield. "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?" Police Chief Mike Jones has since resigned, Lt. Gov. Its a former mining town, its population about the same as it was a decade ago. Walker told the judge he will fight the charge. She called for the second town hall meeting this week.. Givan and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway held the first town hall, in which 200 people gathered and 31 told stories of harassment and abuse. All they do is take peoples rights. Brookside Police Department is in the Police1 Law Enforcement Directory. We get calls about Brookside quite regularly because they really go outside their jurisdiction to stop people, Pettway said. Ive never seen a possession case split like that, he said. The transformation of Brookside's police department began in 2018, under the direction of long-serving and now late Mayor Roger McCondichie. Jones was a Helena police officer and president of the city council in the Shelby County town until late 2018 when, as ABC 33/40s Cynthia Gould reported at the time, he stopped coming to meetings without explanation while his personal security business ran into trouble. 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. The interim chief and Town leaders announced reforms within the police department in February 2022. Starting on Page 3 of the report Simon wrote, Our analysis of Brooksides traffic citations did not produce strong statistical evidence of racial profiling in traffic stops. 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.
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