I was scared to death even though I was doing nothing wrong.. The town of Brookside confirmed that Chief Mike Jones resigned from his position in a brief press release Tuesday afternoon. We were required to be jailers as well, but had no formal training.. Seven Brookside police officers have resigned since details of the towns aggressive policing strategy gained national attention in January. 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. Then she saw the officer tap the radio on his chest. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. She has watched and documented stops there. 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. 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. 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 . It was something that I should not have been stopped for, Brumlow said in sworn testimony. When Jones was hired as chief in 2018, he was the only full-time police officer, he said in sworn testimony for a lawsuit . "You're taking the money for them to potentially get that light fixed by making them pay a fine.". BIRMINGHAM, Ala.Six hundred forty percent.That's how much Brookside, Alabama's police increased its revenue from fines, fees and forfeitures from 2018 to 2020. The man is still afraid of retaliation, and asked for anonymity. Johnson, though it is unclear if Brookside had a Detective Johnson. To report a criminal tax violation,please call (251) 344-4737, To report non-filers, please emailtaxpolicy@revenue.alabama.gov. The complaint alleges numerous constitutional violations, and we believe the citizens need to be protected from illegal actions by the Town of Brookside.. He reported that his Police Chief was mad.. But Jones sold Brookside a vision of how to turn a sleepy department into an intimidating and lucrative force. Advertisement. And 99% of them are lying.. The town required drivers to pay $175 in restitution to receive a release form nothing but a piece of paper to take to Jetts to reclaim their car. 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.Video above: Federal class action lawsuit filed against Town of Brookside, police officers The U.S. attorney's office this week filed a statement of interest in the civil lawsuit against . She insists like many others stopped by Brookside police that she did not run the stop sign at all. Unsure what was happening, Harris dialed 911. Instead, the arresting officer was listed as Agent JS, while the assisting officer was Agent AR.. Stephanie Franklin, a Jefferson County employee, told AL.com she was a passenger in a car stopped last year for an expired tag. Police must direct traffic before the 1 p.m. court session starts. Simon said early findings point to a police force that preyed on people who looked like they wouldnt be able to put up much of a fight, because of poverty, race, or previous run-ins with the law. Investigators stored them as evidence, diapers and all, in a closet in the lieutenants office. Olive. At the time, Jones was still president of the Helena City Council, though it was reported he later stopped attending meetings when his private security business began to struggle. In addition, she said, counting on fines and fees collected from people in lower income and marginalized communities only serves to punish them further. Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr asked judges to drop 69 felony drug charges that originated in Brookside, along with 22 associated misdemeanors, saying he did not want to be associated with a rogue police force.. Court is now set to resume this Thursday. A court worker told her she would have to plead guilty or go to driving school. Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. Another SUV faced her, bright lights on, and yet another pulled at the rear. 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. Thats my (late) husbands boat, she said. Will Ainsworth, have said Brookside and towns that use overly aggressive policing to fill their coffers must change. And it broke her heart, it broke my heart.. On top of the third party audit, the town has retained a former Jefferson County judge to . He had past drug and alcohol charges, a DUI and an arrest for public lewdness, according to police records. They were expected to keep track of real-time police calls on Excel files. He agreed to represent his niece in her traffic case. By Tristan Ruppert. But in 2018 it . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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. 2. Vincent Witt, who sued Brookside after his treatment there. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. She said one officer told her Well, we didnt say it wasnt working. Brookside cops were on a high-priority case in 2019. Attempts to reach Tidwell were unsuccessful. 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. 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. Savelle had a history of trouble. 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. Transfer Portal. In May of 2019, the month Brumlow was stopped, Brookside officers ticketed 75 people for driving in the left lane. They were shining these flashlights in my car and it was daylight. 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. All Rights Reserved. The ABC3340 News I-Team first exposed . Officers began to pick up the bags and bring them into the little town hall, said Kimberlee Hudgens, a Brookside dispatcher at the time. "This city is a ticking, ticking time bomb waiting to explode," state Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who has called for other town officials to resign, told the . And while many Brookside residents work across the Birmingham area the largest urban center in Alabama they enjoy the country feel of their town, the anonymity and security that used to come with it. It's a story that is really egregious and heinous for a variety of reasons.". At least two others were in arrears on child support, and another had been charged with harassment, though the charges were dropped. She had no preparations for such an invasive procedure. It wiped out half her income. It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. Eventually she was given an inhaler and treated by paramedics. Ive never seen a possession case split like that, he said. She pulled to the side of the road as the SUV pulled behind her, and a wrecker simultaneously parked nearby. He stated that I issued threats, incited a riot, and slandered the Brookside Police Department in my Facebook posts. Ultimately another officer took Perez to his friends house to retrieve her ID, he said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Jones could not be reached for comment Friday. We are not safer because of it.. She said she tried to record the interaction after three officers in two vehicles pulled her car over, but an officer with a valknot symbol a Norse sign sometimes appropriated by white supremacists on a ring and one of his gun clips confiscated her phone. A dark, seemingly unmarked SUV pulled behind her, she said. I have never been in any trouble only had one speeding ticket. Perez is angry at his treatment. Brookside prosecutor Mark Parnell, fought dismissal of some of those cases, but asked for the dismissal of others. 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. It went from towing 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020 each carrying fines. 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. People are angry and more than frustrated with the Brookside police department. But Brookside could not make the case. Then this month the Brookside department posted on Facebook that it had hired six more officers in an effort to expand our dedication and commitment to provide superior community service & protection.. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. Hall did appeal, and a Jefferson County judge ultimately dismissed the charges. Officers detained and questioned drivers, often handcuffing them during the search as they brought in drug-sniffing dogs named Axl and Cash. 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. As a single mom that really messed me up, she said. 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). She complained directly to then-Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones. Most of the time people get stopped, theyre going to get a ticket. The special report concludes with six recommendations for Brookside leaders and the Brookside Police Department. She was ticketed for improper tag light and driving while suspended, and her vehicle was towed. 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, 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. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Lawyers for eight people argued this month in a federal lawsuit that Brookside and Jetts Towing engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity. The lawyers cited federal anti-corruption RICO statutes and the Hobbs Act. Some residents worried the growing fleet of military equipment lined up outside town hall sent an unwelcoming message. The city is facing at least five federal lawsuits related to its policing. Jones put out word that Brookside was hiring officers and dispatchers for the new department, which he cast as an interstate drug unit. Brookside is one tiny place that caught the brief attention of the nation and could help people understand the dangers of using law enforcement to fund governments, she said. Its a former mining town, its population about the same as it was a decade ago. 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. In court she pleaded down to driving without a state license less serious than driving while suspended and ultimately got her license back. A year before, Brooksides low-key, one-man police department had begun to metastasize, at the behest of town leaders, into an insatiable band of reverse Robin Hoods, stopping so many cars, detaining and arresting so many people that it couldnt keep up. "What if $150 is the cost of choosing between feeding my child, getting their medicine or paying this ticket?" About Us Contact Us Garbage bags filled with used adult diapers, soiled puppy pads and empty oatmeal packets had been regularly dumped along the main road through the tiny town just north of Birmingham. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the police jurisdiction in municipalities having 6,000 or more inhabitants shall cover all adjoining territory within three miles of the corporate limits, and in municipalities having less than 6,000 inhabitants, the police jurisdiction shall cover all adjoining . Baggett took Ubers and Lyfts to the Avondale area of Birmingham to work, at $35 a pop, plus tip. We respect the process and its outcomes., Montague Minnifield talks passionately about his experience with Brookside Police. The officers, though many, were not well paid. And so thats why I decided to fight.. The suit also names 23 current and former officers as individual defendants. Dozens of people sharing their stories about encounters with Brookside officers during an emergency town hall in Fultondale hosted by State Representative Juandalynn Givan and . Ive seen it, DA Carr said. What could I have done to warrant police from a different city showing up at my work to arrest me?, The answer would come soon, as the first officer spoke: Do you remember getting a ticket in Brookside?. They let her out of jail at midnight, long after her family had made bond. Baggett and the officers went back to look at the tag light, and it worked. called for the second town hall meeting this week. So he quit, after about a year on the job. She paid the $160 ticket and began to make her case through emails to public officials, complaints, a television interview and elsewhere. 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. An investigator with the AG responded to her, and she spelled it out again in 2020. I saw him and we looked eye to eye, the Chelsea business owner said. Top editors give you the stories you want . Another town hall is scheduled for Thursday at 6 pm at Birminghams Carver High School. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on an official government site. Michelle Jones made an official complaint to the Alabama Attorneys Generals office three years ago, arguing that Brookside police stopped her out of jurisdiction, issued a bogus citation and threatened her with more charges after she criticized them on Facebook. 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. At least eight officers, including Jones, have resigned or been let go since. In an email to her May 29, 2019, Mike Jones defended the stop, and the ability to ticket outside of Brookside. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Just 50 cars were towed in 2018, but that jumped to 789 cars two years later, or an average of more than two a day. In 2018 total revenue for the town of Brookside was $586,000. He promised benefits and a place to land for police who had left other agencies but hoped to keep their law enforcement certification current. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. For driving with an expired tag. 10, 2022 at 9:06 PM PST. Jones had known James Bo Savelle Agent JS, as he often wrote on his reports from his days in Shelby County, according to former Brookside workers. 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. Mayor Bryan announced he had pulled police officers from Interstate 22 as the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission and the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts swooped in for audits. The office of state Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, declined to comment Friday about the traffic stops in Brookside. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. story of how the tiny town turned to aggressive ticketing to build a ballooning police force that came to provide half the towns revenue. Ramon Perez showed up for court in December ready to fight traffic citations he got in Brookside. It resulted in Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigning Tuesday on the same day Alabama Lt. Gov. He lent his car to a friend, who was pulled over and arrested for drug possession. Two or three days later Brookside police stopped him again. We will be reviewing the details of the allegations with the Towns legal counsel. We had cameras in dispatch and there were multiple times when he would bring an inmate into his office and shut the door, she said. NEW! Click on a feature to learn more. The evidence and testimony were insufficient. The Town of Brookside participates in the affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, it says. It took four months before she could save for another car. He was also ticketed for improper signal, though he cant even fathom how that might have occurred. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. These figures were provided by the city: Brookside Police. 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. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. The town's median household income is less than $40,000, according to demographic data. But if you want real justice, I think youll go through the process. Sarathy Jones said the issues in Brookside should be a warning for towns and small cities to examine their revenue sources and ensure their local governments aren't turning to law enforcement as moneymaking arms. One man said residents don't want just resignations, they want people going to jail. He pushed the boundaries of the towns police jurisdiction beyond the town limits, and blanketed nearby Interstate 22 with police cars. This month the town judge, Jim Wooten, announced he would step aside and recuse himself from all pending cases. Which is another problem altogether, Sheriff Pettway said. Brookside Police Department is a cultural feature (building) in Jefferson County. She said she was asked to pat down female inmates, and was once made to perform a cavity search on a woman suspected of having drugs. By the time she found it the storage fees topped $2,000. Sheriff Pettway said those who face charges in Brookside and want to ensure justice can get a bond and appeal their case. Brookside has two drug-sniffing dogs one named K9 Cash to search the cars of stopped motorists. 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. And in 2019, when Jones was out of town and Savelle filling in as Brookside chief, he was charged with harassment at a Dave & Busters in Hoover. Im still kind of in debt from that.. Pettway also said issues with Brookside could draw the attention of the federal government. The law we enacted will prevent abuses like those in Brookside from being repeated elsewhere in Alabama, said Lt. Gov. Popularity:#11 of 45 Police Departments in Jefferson County#69 of 565 Police Departments in Alabama#2,237 in Police Departments. One, by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur would force cities to make the amount of fines and fees they collect public. She was taken to jail and told she couldnt leave without a $500 cash bond and $206 she still owed on the original offense. Tuesday February 1, 2022. Police Trap, she posted in June of 2019. Theres no way I was going to run that stop sign.. I dont condone it, but you know, Im not the chief out there.. The growth has come with trouble to match. I could take over the whole county with numbers like that, he joked. 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. 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. He instituted a no pleas from Brookside rule, and asked his workers to flag for scrutiny every case out of that town. Please call 205-345-6600 for information regarding roads or right of way.