In Hanceville, Alabama, the city council has decided to overhaul and rebuild the entire police department after a staggering discovery. A grand jury exposed what was described as a “rampant culture of corruption” within the small-town force.
In response to these findings, the city council voted to suspend the current operations of the department and begin the search for a new police chief. The goal is to create a reformed department with newly hired personnel, stepping in line with earlier action by the mayor, who placed the entire department on administrative leave.
This drastic measure follows the grand jury’s recommendation earlier this year. In February, they indicted four officers and the police chief on multiple charges, including mismanaging or removing evidence from the evidence room. The grand jury was so concerned that it recommended the complete dissolution of the police department.
The council meeting lasted nearly two hours, featuring public commentary on the situation. Some residents voiced that it was unjust for those members of the police force who remained untainted by scandal. Nevertheless, a faction of the attendees indicated that a clean slate might be the best path forward. According to officials, the department employs around 12 individuals.
This major decision coincided with Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker’s release of a preliminary audit on the department’s evidence room. Several items were notably missing, including 67 oxycodone pills, 39 gabapentin pills, 1.5 grams of cocaine, and a .25-caliber handgun. Additionally, Crocker pointed out the discovery of about 30 undocumented firearms within the evidence room.
Crocker labeled the audit results as shocking yet unsurprising, expressing these thoughts in a correspondence to the mayor. At a previous press conference, Crocker highlighted the subpar security of the evidence room, even showing images of a wall breach and a green broomstick employed to force open the entryway.
For the interim, the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office has assumed law enforcement responsibilities as the city deliberates the future structure of its police department. Hanceville, positioned 45 miles north of Birmingham, is located within Cullman County.
The urgency of reform intensified after a tragic incident led to an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigations. The probe was triggered by the death of a police dispatcher presumed to have succumbed to a drug overdose while on duty.
