Nearly four years after its policing-for-profit scandal, Brookside, Alabama, has agreed to a lawsuit settlement proposing a $1.5 million payout for those impacted by the town’s aggressive fine and ticketing policies.
The federal class action was brought by plaintiffs in 2022 who were impacted by the town’s aggressive policing tactics, which after 2018 began prioritizing generating revenue through significant increases in traffic stops, citation collections and vehicle towing.
The town on Friday agreed to a settlement bartered by class action clients’ legal representation, nonprofit law firm, the Institute for Justice, IJ, and Bill Dawson of Dawson Law LLC.
In a Monday press release, IJ highlighted that Brookside saw a 640 percent increase in revenue from fines, fees and forfeitures from 2018 to 2022. The influx of money was found to have come through the town’s police department towing cars and charging a $175 fine to retrieve them, alongside fines collected through Brookside’s municipal court.
Funds garnered through policing largely went to training, conferences, vehicles and salaries for the Brookside Police Department. This included the purchase of a “mine-resistant militarized vehicle,” which IJ wrote that Brookside police officers “drove around the town as part of their intimidation tactics.”
“We’ve asked the Court to approve a settlement that achieves two ambitious goals,” said IJ Attorney Jaba Tsitsuashvili. “First, it compensates people who were impacted by Brookside’s aggressive towing and ticketing policies, to the tune of $1.5 million in total. Second, it entrenches meaningful systemic reforms, by severing the link between Brookside’s policing and its revenue. This is the justice that the community deserves.”
One million dollars of the settlement will go toward people whose cars were ordered towed by town police between 2018 and 2022, and the remaining $500,000 will go toward individuals charged with offenses in Brookside’s municipal court during the same period.
In addition to compensating individuals impacted by its policing policies, Brookside has agreed to permanently repeal its fee for retrieving towed cars and remove its police department from Interstate 22 for the next ten years, unless responding to an emergency.
Under the settlement, Brookside would be barred from keeping revenue generated by its police department for the next five years. Following the initial five-year period, the town will be entitled to 10 percent of its police revenue for the next ten years and 2.5 percent for the 15 years following.
“In total, that’s a 30-year obligation for the town to sever the link between policing and revenue,” wrote IJ’s Andrew Wimer.
Additionally, Brookside agreed to implement transparency measures, including publicizing the town’s general operating budget annually and holding town council meetings that are open to the public and audio-recorded. The town must also maintain information on town ordinances, resolutions and contracts with vehicle towing providers on its website.
Under the settlement, Brookside would provide an acknowledgement to class members that its “policy of aggressive policing likely interfered with the Town’s obligation to administer justice equally under law, undermined the public’s trust in the justice system, and raised serious constitutional concerns under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
“Systems that permit policing for profit inevitably result in abuse,” said IJ Senior Attorney Sam Gedge. “The settlement we’ve proposed compensates those impacted by Brookside’s system and keeps it from recurring.”
Alongside IJ, Brittany Coleman and Chekeithia Grant, two of the named plaintiffs in the case, whose cars were towed by the Brookside Police Department, expressed support for the settlement proposal on Monday.
“We hope this will show other towns in Alabama and across the country that their police departments are not supposed to treat people like ATMs,” Coleman said.
Coleman, the only class action plaintiff who also brought an individual claim against Brookside, has agreed to a separate $5,000 settlement for a claim that Brookside officers violated her Fourth Amendment rights by wrongfully handcuffing her.
“Police are supposed to protect and serve, not ticket and collect,” said Grant. “When that gets flipped around, people suffer. We brought this case to remind Brookside of that, and to get the town on the right track. This settlement should do that. And it should be a warning to other towns.”
As part of the settlement, IJ has agreed not to seek any attorney’s fees arising from the Brookside case’s litigation.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama will now rule on whether to give the settlement agreement preliminary approval. If the court grants approval, class members will have the opportunity to submit claims to be included or to opt out of the settlement.
