A grand jury has called for an Alabama police department to be immediately abolished, calling it “more of a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency” following the indictment of its chief and several officers on corruption charges.
Hanceville, a small Alabama city of around 3,200 located about 45 miles north of Birmingham, placed its entire police force on administrative leave a day after the grand jury recommendation. Hanceville Mayor Jim Sawyer said Thursday in a statement that the Cullman County Sheriff’s Department will temporarily take over law enforcement duties.
The district attorney prosecuting the case, Champ Crocker, told NewsNation’s “Banfield” on Thursday night that investigators found “troubling things.”
Five members of the Hanceville Police Department, including the chief, were indicted for “a rampant culture of corruption,” according to documents. They are accused of mishandling or removing materials from the department’s evidence room.