In a small Alabama town, the entire police department and its employees were terminated after a grand jury recently charged five officers, including the chief, in connection with the death of a dispatcher and suggested that the department should be disbanded.
Following the indictment by the Cullman County grand jury on various charges such as drug offenses, tampering with evidence and computers, and misuse of authority, the remaining 12 employees were placed on administrative leave on February 20. The indictment also included the spouse of one of the officers, as reported by CrimeOnline.
The charges stemmed from the passing of dispatcher Christopher Willingham, aged 49, on August 23, 2024. An autopsy disclosed that Willingham, who was discovered deceased in his office, succumbed to a mix of substances including fentanyl, gabapentin, diasepam, amphetamine, carisoprodol, and methocarbamol.
Officers Cody Alan Kelso and Jason Scott Wilbanks were charged with computer tampering, solicitation to commit a controlled substance crime, use of office for personal gain, and tampering with physical evidence. Officer Eric Kelso and his wife Donna Kelso were indicted on drug charges — unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Officer William Andrew Shelnut and Police Chief Jason Shane Marlin were both charged with tampering with physical evidence, and the chief was additionally charged with failur to report an ethics crimes.
Citing rampant “general incompetence” and “negligence,” the grand jury took the extraordinary step of recommending that the police department be completely disbanded and law enforcement for the town handed over to another agency.
According to WHNT, the Hanceville City Council voted on Monday to suspend and “rebuild the department,” and Mayor Jimmy Sawyer began handing out pink slips. According to a letter given to one now-former employee, the city agreed to pay the employees through March 21, including any sick or vacation time they have due, and medical insurance would continue through April 1.
Should the department reopen, the former employees will be able to apply for a job.
One of the former employees, who declined to be named, provided a statement to WBRC purporting to be from “a group of former employees” saying they were “hurt and saddened by the lack of communication by the city leadership.”
“We have met and discussed this with the leadership and we were told multiple times that we were going to be ok, only to be turned around and stabbed in the back,” the statement said. “They didn’t just leave us, who had nothing to do with this, but also our families left in the cold.”
Interestingly, the former, long-term mayor of Hanceville, Kenneth Nail, resigned in late 2023 after pleading guilty to 15 counts of using city employees, including police, and inmates to do private work for him. He had served as mayor since 2008.
