Alabama police department should be immediately abolished over rampant culture of corruption: grand jury

An Alabama grand jury wants to “immediately” abolish a local police department when an investigation found a “rampant culture of corruption” within its ranks following the death of one of its dispatchers.Eighteen grand jurors found the Hanceville police department to be a “particular and ongoing threat to public safety,” Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker said during a press conference on Wednesday.“There is a rampant culture of corruption in the Hanceville Police Department, which has recently operated as more of a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency,” Crocker said.The jurors said they have “zero confidence” in the department’s ability to operate.Hanceville Police Chief Jason Marlin, Officers Cody Alan Kelso, Drew Shelnut, Jason Wilbanks, reserve officer Eric Michael Kelso, and his wife, Donna Kelso, were arrested and charged following the investigation into the department, AL.com reported.The investigation was launched after Hanceville dispatcher Christopher Michael Willingham, 49, died on Aug.23, 2024, from a toxic drug combination at work.Willingham’s death was determined to be “the direct result of the Hanceville Police Department’s negligence, lack of procedure, general incompetence and disregard for human life,” Crocker said.“Nothing was secure about the evidence room.

And when Mr.Willingham was discovered, there was evidence in his office,” Crocker said.Crocker revealed photos of a massive hole in the wall leading to the evidence room and said a broom was repeatedly used to keep the door open.“Criminal evidence must be secured in order to have that evidence for prosecution and to ensure due process,” he said.

“This evidence room was anything but secure.”A state medical examiner’s autopsy report showed that the dispatcher had “fentanyl, gabapentin, diazepam, amphetamine, carisoprodol and methocarbamol” in his system when he died.“Like a lot of other people,” Willingham was given a...