Thank you Brookside Business Association for inviting me to speak at your meeting this morning. After being pulled over on Interstate 22 for allegedly speeding in February 2021, Anyl Pascal was arrested by Brookside police and taken to jail. I have been pulled over. Revenue into the town jumped from $431,637 in 2016 to $1,233,469 in 2020. Brookside, just north of Birmingham, already faces at least 10 lawsuits about its policing. Three weeks later she, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. A friend sent her a link to a website called Crime Stoppers. The overt nature of the apparent abuses of power in Brookside begs an immediate response from the various state and federal officials responsible for upholding the fair administration of justice in Alabama, especially where an entire law enforcement system was apparently subverted. COVINGTON COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) On Monday, the former chief of the Brookside Police Department was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer, allegedly in order to get out of a traffic ticket. Did you encounter any technical issues? Even though he didnt end up filing a formal report, officers seem to have taken note. The next year, it doubled. Would love to chop it up if its near where I am next time youre around this swamp. . CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. 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. Ive said it a million times. Nobody deserves that, Bryan said. The report on the news website AL.com tells a two-year story of a town that is symbolic of a nationwide problem: predatory law enforcement and policing for profits. Im not going to abandon the town. The town survives on the fringes of Birmingham with tax revenue from the Dollar General, which forms the totality of its commercial district. Arkansas has even empowered district attorneys to suspend traffic enforcement, and Oklahoma has empowered the attorney general to remove traffic enforcement powers from a jurisdiction altogether. This remains an active investigation and no further comments will be made at this time.. Then things turned bizarre. I was in Brookside proper twice in late 2016. This is exactly the sort of thing that can go wrong in small towns. Like, somebody was arrested for a small amount of marijuana, and the court charged him with the marijuana and with the rolling paper as paraphernalia that covered the joint or whatever. The mayor and police force there are looking to fine anybody they can to bring in revenue. After that, he spent five years reporting on mostly employment law. City of Brookshire Police Department | Brookshire TX I ended up wishing I could mail myself to Berlin or Prague. 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. The Brookside Police Department is a professional law enforcement agency operated by the Town of Brookside out of Brookside Town Hall at 2711 Municipal Drive. Greenway Park incorporates a truly remarkable mix of habitats in close proximity. Corruption can happen anywhere, but in a small town, there are fewer decision makers involved, and the smaller scale of it doesnt attract much attention from the sort of out-of-towners who could maybe do something about it. I did it. Or, if one needs another example, see this companion story (also via al.com): Pastor, sister say rogue Alabama police force sought revenge. Now HOAs? And this hippie chick hasnt set foot in the Deep South since. Florida. Hes been promoting this story on twitter. My last drive from ATL to Los Angeles, I got busted for speeding in West Texas. A Department of Justice spokeswoman told me the agency is aware of the reporting on Brookside and will consider that information, along with other information we may receive in deciding if an investigation into a pattern of unconstitutional law enforcement may be appropriate.. Those transfers were suspended* under the Obama administration. Theres no greater way in which your rights can be infringed than by becoming prey to someone with a badge and a gun who simply sees you as a way to pay the bills. | Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Upkeep is not insignificant. As of January 2021, the department announced via Facebook that it had hired six more officers, in order to "expand our dedication and commitment to provide superior community service & protection." The Facebook page is no longer available to the public. And if youre following someone too closely, or if youre driving too long in the left lane, they will pull you over. Im not going to resign. Nearby grocery stores include Piggly Wiggly, Icehouse, and Walmart Grocery Pickup & Delivery. The police chief and mayor told Archibald they don't even know how the money from the fines has been spent. There are now just four police officers Brookside. 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. The Brookside Police Department didnt respond to requests for comment. Those are horror stories and I hope and pray they arent true. Ill be here for a while because we have some work to do.. Chief Jones testified under oath that just one of the 10 Brookside vehicles is painted with police striping, but nine others bear no emblems, and seven are tinted all the way around, making it impossible to see inside. Infuriating indeed. Over 150 people showed up at the sheriff's . She was also charged with resisting arrest. 2. The practices are a problem in every state, and are often more prevalent in rural jurisdictions with high poverty, according to a 2019 report by Governing Magazine; a 2020 report by the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale Law School and other academic centers; and an investigation in October 2021 by the New York Times. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Of course, what is striking to me from the budget discussion in the piece is that the money generated is mainly just being spent on more policing. 2 Bd, 2 Ba. I adjust every time I see a speed limit sign. **Checks can be made payable to Community Club of Brookside. 5 Brookside Dr Wallingford, CT 06492 855-720-2777 The police have ordered vehicles towed for lack of insurance, while ignoring owners' efforts to show insurance documentation. s to local yokel cops like these using the interstates, I have long argued that they should not have jurisdiction on federal highways, certainly not interstate highways. 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. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - Were learning more about whats next for the Brookside Police Department after Henry Irby was named the new interim police chief Friday. 2711 Municipal Dr. Brookside, AL 35036. After all, there are traffic stops to make. Brookside has only one commercial building, a Dollar General, and is mostly known for its annual Russian Food Festival. Find West Hartford, CT residential property records including property owners, sales & transfer history, deeds & titles, property taxes, valuations, land, zoning records & more. In 2018, Brookside had somewhere in the range of $80,000 in fines and forfeitures, which made up 14 percent of the city budget. I Played a Card Game With My Fianc to See Who Does the Most Housework. Heres a zoom-in. Now HOAs? In this case, we had a young deputy that was trying to be respectful to a supposed veteran officer and gave him a break. That made for about 14% of its total income a relatively high proportion. Police Depts Sheriffs Depts SCORE * An asterisk indicates that this location has not provided enough data to be included in our rankings. One big problem is the law has developed in a way that gives a lot of immunity for many things these police departments do, Dawson said. It is part of the area that grew up around the mining that declined some decades ago alongside the mining industry in the Magic City. If anything Witt was lucky they didn't try to seize his new car. And shes from Florida. Looking at over the citys audits, the fines and fees were broken out. Witts sister was the first one to notice what happened next. Actor Jason Hope in character as Rod Corkhill in television soap Brookside, circa 1985 (Photo by TV Times via Getty Images) From the 1980s, Rod Corkhill was played by actor Jason Hope. So far, state leaders and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway have heard those allegations at two town halls. It is part of a larger place I have come to be profoundly interested in for a number of reasons and in a number of ways (linked to art and history). Hopefully, the pending lawsuit and the national attention that this excellent reporting has generated will lead to the dismantlement of this farce of a police force. People say, I was ticketed for driving 2 miles per hour over the speed limit, or I was ticketed for running a stop sign that I didnt run, over and over and over again. Like much of the area between I-65 and I-22 (and really a lot of the former mining communities) Brookside is a mix of trees, hills, and a lack of zoning. CNN's Nick Valencia reports. Chief Irby says he will be vetting those officers. Buyer financing fell through. Fewer than 100 of its residents graduated college. At the time, I was driving the speed limit on I-20 between Brandon and Jackson. While my grandparents and a slew of aunts and uncles migrated to Texas in the 1950s, my great-grandmother, great-uncle, and several great-aunts stayed pretty much right where they had been since the early 20th century until their deaths. Castleberrys former mayor didnt dispute the idea that a speed trap was built to prop up the budget, admitting freely that officials set up a court system to get some money coming in, AL.com reported in March 2019. If you use a windshield cover, you can at least forget about scrapping the ice off your windshield to save some time and hassle. Last year, based on Jones testimony, Brookside had at least one officer for every 144 residents. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Charles Oliver By 2020 Brookside made more. But as the fines rolled in, funding for police skyrocketed 560 percent. I would love a lawyer to tell us where the State AG is. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: Cops With Super Sniffers Fool No One Except the Judge. For Municipal Court information or inquiries, email. A police department in Brookside, Alabama, is facing allegations of policing for profit and defamation lawsuits after residents say they've received bogus charges. Town revenue from fines and police seizures of peoples property surged to $610,000, about half its income, AL.com reported. Bill Dawson, a lawyer who has represented several clients in Brookside, said defendants have faced possession charges for a joint, with paraphernalia charges tacked on for the paper it was rolled in. While the Town awaits the results of an audit being performed by APOST (Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission), Mayor Mike Bryan has ordered the following steps to be immediately taken: 1. The Brookside Police Department (BPD) has been accused of setting up speed traps, over-policing, malpractice, corruption, fabricating charges and harassment by hundreds of its citizens. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) -The town of Brookside is facing another lawsuit. I would allow only federal cops and the state highway patrol, which is almost invariably better screened and trained, to issue tickets on those roads. 1.19.2022 1:20 PM. Central Falls Police Department: Type: Certified: Job Title: Certified Police Officer: Deadline: May 15, 2023 11:59 PM Eastern Registration Fee: $35.00: Contact: [email protected]: Location: Central Falls, RI: Share . Police in this tiny Alabama town suck drivers into legal black hole, reported just 55 serious crimes to the state in the entire eight year period between 2011 and 2018, Pastor, sister say rogue Alabama police force sought revenge, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fordPXp06h4. Brookside has a short, 1.5-mile portion of Interstate 22 within its jurisdiction, and it brought in $82,467 in traffic fines in 2018. 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. Defendants must pay thousands in fines and feesor pay for costly appeals to state courtand poorer residents or passersby fall into patterns of debt they cannot easily escape. 3.2.2023 4:00 AM, Veronique de Rugy 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. In a report published by AL.com, figures pointed to half of the towns revenue had come from an increase in fines and forfeitures, including officers taking property during traffic stops. Here is Brookside relative to Birmingham. Merrick has a lot of fish to fry. The armored vehicles on loan from the Law Enforcement Support Office of ADECA will be returned. 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.. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. A special investigator and others are looking into alarming allegations that involve many drivers who say they were unjustly pulled over by Brookside police. Hes hoping Chief Irby can help get to the bottom of the situation. He was a deputy chief then an interim chief. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. | (Reuters) - Brookside Police Department in Alabama has made the criminalization of poorer residents and passers-by the tiny towns leading industry, according to a striking expose published on Wednesday. He ruled that the "bizarre" police behavior afterward was not protected. 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. Frankly, they are really just jobs programs built off a privateer model. For Sale: 4 beds, 2 baths 1675 sq. Brookside, a former mining town in north Jefferson County, has only 1,253 residents, AL.com reported. Birmingham News columnist John Archibald reports, "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 city's total income." All rights reserved. It is maybe a 10 minute drive from downtown Birmingham. She was not speeding, or breaking the law, she argued in the suit. The Brookside Police Department didn't respond to requests for comment. All of this underscores the perils of policing for profit instead of supporting public safety. This is a pattern seen in numerous places. * It is adjacent to the town where my grandparents (and a huge chunk of my family) lived when my mother was born (a small neighborhood that was once part of a company town). Unsure what was happening, Harris dialed 911. Of course, what is striking to me from the budget discussion in the piece is that the money generated is mainly just being spent on more policing. That jump wasn't from tax receipts. The blue circle (and the blue x in the above-which is actually a little off) is the cluster of streets where a chunk of my mothers family is from. One thing Im specifically curious about: what, if any, local taxes exist for Brookside. This horse property has 4 bedrooms and 4 total baths. Witt says he asked if Brookside pulled everybody over like this and says the police officer called him a racial slur and told him to stay out of the town. And he had enough money to hire a lawyer who appealed. Still, there are some actions local and state authorities in addition to DOJ -- can take to deter police departments engaged in patterns of extractive and abusive practice. I still remember. * Note that the Obama admin did not suspend all transfers. Included in the gardens are several distinct areas: Aquatic Garden, Azalea Garden, Butterfly Garden, Children's Garden, Rose Garden, Japanese Style Garden, Trial Garden, Rain Garden, and the . 2 Alabama rallies, beats Auburn 90-85 in overtime, New OR bill would give $1K a month to homeless people, Burger King brings back fan-favorite item, Father finds mission after losing son in 1998 Oak, WATCH: Park officials evaluate fish using electrofishing, Prefiled bill aims to protect student-led school, SNAP emergency allotment ends, other organizations, Jury hears closing arguments in Murdaugh murder trial, TN firing squad bill clears another hurdle, Florida police investigating skeletal remains found, Arrest warrants issued for Georgia Bulldog Jalen, LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne promotes AI essay generator, Wednesday marks 9 years since Myra Lewis disappearance, Bill would get rid of the Democratic Party in FL, Alabama judge suspended after receiving complaint, Strong Storms in North AL Tonight; Weather Aware, She was arrested over $40. Biographical note: I was talking to my mother last night and she noted that she went to elementary school in Brookside for a few years before they moved to Texas. The conclusion reads: Witt and his sister Tareya, who wasn't even in the car, were then charged a few days later with impersonating police . Jones again as Mayor Bryan nodded said the goal of the department is only to help people. 2 bed 2 bath 1050 sqft. It isnt like a bunch of city services are being funded (not that that would justify it, but it would at least there would be a thin reed of positive motivations in all of this). In 2018, when the town had one full-time police officer and a few part-timers, itreported no serious crimesto the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center. Despite proximity to suburbs and very urban areas, if I were to blindfold you and drop you in the middle of Brookside, you might assume that you were in the middle of nowhere. For most of the past decade it saw little crimeonly 55 major crimes in eight years, none homicide or rape. 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. The current listing price for this horse property is $299,999 and has been listed by Keller Williams Performance Real Estate. 1050 Sqft. *Birminghams nickname is The Magic City as it grew out of nothing in the very late 19th Century to become a boom town and center for mining and steel production. Brookside makes $175 off each tow -- . It frightened her, and led to more trouble. To my knowledge, the Biden administration has not suspended the program again. Witt and his sister have sued in federal court for malicious prosecution. His arrest comes after an incident on April 12, when he was allegedly used his Brookside Police badge to avoid getting a ticket during a traffic stop in Covington County. BROOKSIDE, Ala. (WBRC) - The town of Brookside has released it's next steps to reform the police department after accusations of aggressive policing and the resignation of the town's police chief. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Interestingly enough, California has its own version of this: Siskiyou County is famous for the number of tickets given out on I-5 in the county. **These connections made this story really bore into my head, and hence the very long post. For a drug thats legal in a whole bunch of states. Thats where she and her brother were both listedas fugitives. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the police department that serves the area, where Mike Hale is the sheriff. Its a revenue thing, it would seem. There are falling apart trailers, older but nice houses, and newish suburban homes all on the same block. But in the past couple. In Mississippi, I was threatened with arrest for recording the police after they pulled me over because I looked suspicious. 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