The Alabama police authority dissolved in 58 cases to evidence scandal

Montgomery, Ala. – – A small city from Alabama dismantles its police department and dismisses dozens of criminal matters after a corruption examination has resulted in a widespread abuse and loss of critical evidence.

Officials in Hanceville, the population of approximately 3,200, announced that 58 cases of crime against five police officers – including the boss – would no longer be pursued by criminal law, as an indictment in connection with manipulation or the disappearance of firearms, drugs and money from the evidence space of the department.

What happened in the department?

The background story:

According to a declaration by the district prosecutor of Cullman County, Champ Crocker, a Grand jury found a “rampant culture of corruption” in the Hanceville police department.

The results came from an Alabama State Bureau of Investigations examination, which showed that almost 40% of the 650 evidence bags and almost a third of all stored firearms had not been properly documented. Overall, many objects were missing – including drugs, weapons and cash.

Crocker said most of the 58 dismissed cases were Drug -relatedAnd only a few were involved in personal crimes with direct victims. “Even an endangered case is too many,” he said, “but the Grand jury had no other recourse.”

What did the Grand jury recommend?

The charges of the Grand jury went beyond the criminal complaint – it included one Recommendation to abolish the department immediately.

In February, the Mayor of Hanceville, Jimmy Sawyer, placed the entire department on vacation. After weeks of the community's debate, Sawyer announced in March that the department would be dissolved and rebuilt from scratch.

How does the city react?

Local perspective:

Hanceville, a close -meshed community, was deeply shaken about 45 miles north of Birmingham. From Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the city did not respond to inquiries about comments.

While the efforts to rebuild the police are underway, it remains unclear how long the process will take or what preliminary law enforcement authorities are available.

Why should you take care of it:

This case underlines the far-reaching consequences of the misconduct of the law enforcement authorities only for the trust of the public, but for the criminal justice system itself.

Dozens of law enforcement measures, some of which may affect any guilty accused, became invalid because evidence is no longer trustworthy.

Crime and public security manager