‘Policing for Profit’: Brookside, Alabama Hit with Class Action Over Allegedly Illegal Seizure of Property

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Brookside, Alabama faces a proposed class action over what a Shelby County resident calls the small town’s practice of “policing for profit.”

The 16-page lawsuit says that despite its population of a little more than 1,200 residents, the north Alabama town has a “prolific” police department well known for “shaking down” residents and those who pass through Brookside for excessive fines, penalties and municipal court costs. 

According to the suit, Brookside’s ticketing and property confiscation practices generate the income used to support the town’s general fund, police department and municipal court. Per the complaint, they also violate the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. 

“For all practical purposes, Brookside confiscates and retains citizens’ property without just cause to do so or an opportunity for those accused to recover their property,” the lawsuit alleges. “This action continues, and will continue, unless this Court grants the relief requested.” 

The complaint charges that in addition to seizing personal property such as vehicles, weapons and cash, Brookside levies “excessive and unwarranted” fees by way of traffic tickets and punitive court costs. Brookside does not afford criminal defendants a meaningful opportunity to contest the deprivation of their property, the case alleges. 

On or about December 19, 2020, the plaintiff was lawfully driving his recently purchased Ducati motorcycle westbound on Interstate 22 in Jefferson County when he was pulled over by a Brookside police officer, the lawsuit says. Per the case, the plaintiff had not yet obtained license plates for the motorcycle since it was only recently purchased. 

The plaintiff claims that the Brookside police offer indicated by hand gesture that he was pulling over on an upcoming offramp. Before the plaintiff could pull over, the lawsuit states, the police officer “veered in front of him and abruptly stopped,” causing the plaintiff and his passenger to be thrown from the motorcycle. The suit says that the plaintiff’s Ducati was “totaled” in the accident and impounded by Brookside, and the man’s passenger was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries. 

The lawsuit says that the plaintiff was arrested and wrongfully charged with several misdemeanors, including second-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, carrying a concealed weapon, reckless endangerment and third-degree assault, despite having not violated any state law or municipal ordinance. 

According to the complaint, the town of Brookside confiscated the plaintiff’s passenger’s pistol, for which the lawsuit says the woman had a valid carry permit. In a footnote, the case states that the plaintiff was charged with having a concealed weapon even though the pistol was in his passenger’s backpack, and the woman had a valid permit. 

Moreover, the plaintiff alleges that he later located his confiscated cell phone in the home of the arresting officer via Apple’s “Find My iPhone” feature. 

Although the plaintiff was released, the case relays, Brookside refused to return his property, which the suit says posed a problem when his insurer sought to evaluate the damage to the motorcycle. The lawsuit says Brookside refused to allow the insurance company to inspect the Ducati and instead turned the motorcycle over to the lienholder without notice to the plaintiff. Ultimately, the plaintiff’s insurer refused to cover the damage, the case says. 

In more than a year since the arrest, the plaintiff has neither pleaded guilty nor been convicted of the charges brought against him by Brookside, the lawsuit states. The case claims the plaintiff was “advised he would never see his property again.” 

According to AL.com, 49 percent of Brookside’s revenue in 2020 came from fines and forfeitures. In the time since that AL.com report last month, Brookside’s police chief, his second-in-command, and several other officers have resigned, the publication notes. 

The lawsuit looks to represent all persons who have been denied access to, or had their property confiscated and retained by, the town of Brookside, Alabama, when they have not been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, and/or all persons who have been charged excessive fines and court costs related to traffic stops or arrests by the town of Brookside.

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