The former mining community of about 1,250 with a median household income less than $40,000 has no traffic lights or two-lane roads, yet it raked in almost half of its municipal revenue from traffic fines and forfeitures in 2020.
The town's financial income exploded into a scandal after a local news report on AL.com last week. On the same day Alabama's lieutenant governor requested a state audit, Mike Jones resigned as police chief.
The city is a "ticking time bomb" waiting to explode, according to a state lawmaker.
With Givan planning a town hall Tuesday to allow people who say they have been exploited by the police force to come forward, advocacy organizations are emphasizing that it is no outlier and highlights how across the country, traffic fines and related.
In the wake of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri, a report by a St. Louis-area public defender group found that Black drivers were more likely to be stopped by police and local courts.
The Fines and Fees Justice Center, which advocates for fees to be eliminated in the justice system and fines to be equitably enforced, said that Ferguson made them realize it wasn't just Ferguson. It is a story that is really egregious and heinous for a number of reasons.
According to the investigation, Jones built a police department of 10 or more full-time and part-time officers to patrol the 6 miles of roads and 1 mile jurisdiction along I-22. The news outlet found that income from traffic fines and forfeitures rose from about $82,000 to more than $610,000 because Jones positioned officers to stop motorists so aggressively. The town expanded its towing operations from 50 to 789 in 2020.
In lawsuits, officers have been accused of making up reasons for traffic stops, overcharging and making up laws. They have been accused of using racist language in a community that is majority white, but also has a small but growing Latino population. The median household income in the town is less than $40,000.
Jones could not be reached for comment. In a statement, Mark Parnell said that he has tried to ensure that only police charges with merit moved forward or were otherwise dismissed.
Brookside will continue to cooperate with all appropriate authorities to ensure that a full investigation of these issues is completed.
There are at least five federal lawsuits against the city.
For years, many people have been too reluctant to complain, but for the past two decades, Bill has had about two dozen people contact him with allegations. He said that 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.
He said he represented a woman who was stopped for driving in the left lane of I-22, which was not technically a crime, and accused police of using false left-lane violations to catch motorists.
If the actions of an officer are found to be part of their official duties, they may be immune from lawsuits.
Steve Marshall's office declined to comment on the traffic stops.
The problem of towns taking advantage of drivers passing through on highways is a problem that lawmakers acknowledge is happening across the state.
Across the country, it is also prevalent. The report found that fines and forfeitures account for more than 10 percent of general fund revenues for nearly 600 jurisdictions throughout the country and that the local median household income was less than $40,000.
Sarathy Jones said the issues in Brookside should be a warning for towns and small cities to examine their revenue sources and make sure they don't turn to law enforcement as a moneymaking arm.
She said that counting on fines and fees collected from people in lower income and marginalized communities only serves to punish them further.
Even if you stop someone because they need a light on their car, how does that meet the goal of making their car safer?
Sarathy Jones said that a person's decision to forgo paying a fine goes deeper.
$150 is the cost of feeding my child, getting their medicine or paying this ticket, she said.
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