The Sheriff of Walker County in Alabama, Nick Smith, faces legal trouble following his arrest on Monday. An indictment alleges he employed law enforcement officers without the necessary state certification or training. Details revealed in court documents indicate that Smith, aged 41, is charged with six misdemeanors for hiring personnel, including one deputy, four armed school resource officers, and a jailer, all allegedly lacking the required state credentials.
The indictment also specifies that the deputy and several school resource officers were provided with patrol cars, badges, and firearms from the department. This development comes after Smith has already been under intense scrutiny following a high-profile case involving Tony Mitchell. Mitchell, a 33-year-old man with mental illness, tragically died from sepsis and hypothermia while in custody at the local jail back in 2023.
The fallout from Mitchell’s death has been significant, with at least 14 law enforcement employees from the county facing federal charges related to the incident. Elected as sheriff in 2018, Smith is also a defendant in a civil lawsuit initiated by the Mitchell family. Further controversy surrounds one officer from Smith’s indictment, whose certification was previously suspended in Arizona after admitting to serious misconduct during a traffic stop.
This particular deputy was hired as a provisional officer last June, a role that normally restricts individuals from making arrests or patrolling alone until they complete state-mandated training. Nevertheless, testimony at a civil service board meeting in May disclosed that the deputy had made three arrests and probed three deaths, breaches of the expected standards.
Adding to the scandal, Chief Deputy Ralph Williams was also apprehended on Monday. Williams allegedly misled the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission by falsely asserting the officer in question had been terminated last November. Attempts to reach out for comments from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office have so far been unsuccessful, with no legal representatives listed for Smith or Williams at the time.
Sheriff Smith has dismissed the recent civil service board hearing as a “sham” and “political circus” amid this wave of legal challenges. His statements came after facing questions during the proceeding.