01/24/2006 - A Mobile police officer -- once named officer of the month -- was arrested Monday and charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said.

 The officer, Fredrick Renfroe, 43, was taken to Mobile County Metro Jail where he was being held in lieu of $3,000 bail late Monday.

 Mobile County Personnel Board records show that officer Renfroe has been disciplined twice for lesser offenses since he joined the force in March 2002.  

 Mobile police Chief Sam Cochran said Monday that he didn't personally know Renfroe but was surprised by the child pornography charge.

 "We did a thorough background check on him before we hired him," the chief said. "It included a polygraph test, a psychological test, a background check, interviews and ... there was no indication whatsoever that there was a hint of this."

 Cochran said Renfroe was placed on administrative leave without pay Friday after a search warrant was issued for Renfroe's home computer. Renfroe turned in his resignation Sunday at the 3rd Precinct, the chief said.

 "We have not accepted his resignation in good standing, and we have moved against him with disciplinary charges that we expect will result in his termination, and he also faces criminal charges," the chief said.

 Internal Affairs and criminal investigations are being conducted, Cochran said. The department is working on the investigation along with the Mobile County district attorney's office and the Child Advocacy Center, the chief said.

 Steve Giardini, the Mobile County assistant district attorney who investigates child abuse cases, said Monday that possession of child pornography is a Class C felony. If Renfroe is convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, the prosecutor said.

"We executed a search warrant Friday, and he was arrested Monday," the prosecutor said.

===========

     12/19/2005 - Birmingham - A rookie police officer is facing a serious charge that involves a young girl.

 Investigators suspect the Birmingham police officer is responsible for shooting a nude video of a girl who happens to be his relative.

 A few weeks ago, someone turned in to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office a videotape of the girl taking a shower .

 Investigators eventually got a warrant for Anthony Stallings' arrest, and Birmingham police turned him over to the sheriff's office.

He is charged with production of obscene matter of persons under 17. Investigators said the alleged victim is 15 now and lives out of state. 

==========

  11/19/2005 - A police officer was arrested after investigators said he beat a homeless man to the point that he suffered permanent brain damage.

 Officer Edward J. Michael, 30, fired a Taser at 44-year-old Jeffrey Goff in September until it ran out of power, then hit the man with a baton and punched him so hard it crushed bones in his face, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found.

 Michael would not comment as he left the jail late Friday after posting $3,500 bail. He faces aggravated battery and felony battery charges.

 An incident report written by an Orange County deputy who saw the attack said Goff grew more resistant as the blows continued, but FDLE special-agent supervisor Robert Ivey said the man didn't actively resist arrest.

"He was simply avoiding being handcuffed by keeping his hands placed in front of him," Ivey said.

 Michael, a 4 1/2-year veteran of the department, was suspended with pay, Jones said. An internal investigation will determine if he violated police policy.

Sgt. Barbara Jones, an Orlando police spokeswoman, said the charges disappointed officials, but she warned observers to withhold judgment on Michael as he goes through the criminal process.

Goff was released Thursday into the care of family after nearly two months in the hospital.

Ivey declined to release further details about Goff's medical condition, other than it was "very serious."

"Prior to the altercation occurring, he was able to communicate," Ivey said. "And the last time that we attempted to talk to him, he was unable to speak to us and to work at the same level he had in the past."

=========

   11/19/2005 - BAY MINETTE -- A former Gulf Shores police officer who spent more than a year hiding from authorities pleaded guilty Friday to sodomy in connection with a sexual attack on a teenage boy.

 Baldwin County Circuit Court Judge Lang Floyd sentenced Romney Lynn Prince, 38, to 15 years in prison on a charge of second-degree sodomy. Prince was arrested in Mexico three months ago.

Prince had faced a possible life sentence for two counts of first-degree sodomy and two counts of second-degree sodomy, but Chief Assistant District Attorney Judy Newcomb said that the victim and his family consented to the plea arrangement.  

 "We felt 15 years was a sufficient amount of time to conclude the case, as opposed to taking it to trial," Newcomb said.

 Prince's attorney, Pascal Bruijn, said his client accepted the deal because he did not want to put his own family through a trial.

"My client is not the personification of evil, as some made him out to be," Bruijn said. "He is simply a human being who fell from grace by a momentary and uncharacteristic lapse of judgment."

As part of the agreement with prosecutors, Newcomb said Prince would not face a charge of first-degree bail-jumping, for which he had been indicted.

 Prince was believed to have fled to Mexico sometime around 2004, when he failed to appear in court on charges that he had sexually assaulted the teenager.

 Mexican authorities working with the FBI arrested Prince in Baja California, a state in Mexico, in August, according to the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office.

 Authorities had focused a search for Prince throughout Alabama, south Florida, Texas and Europe, sheriff's office spokesman Lt. John Murphy said at the time of Prince's arrest.

 When located in Mexico, Prince was working as a cook in the Crossroads Restaurant in the community of Vinorama, according to Murphy. Vinorama sits on the southeastern tip of the Baja peninsula, about 800 miles south of San Diego.

 Prince was first arrested in July 2003 and resigned from the Gulf Shores Police Department a short time later. Authorities have said the charges were not connected to his work as an officer.

Three months after Prince failed to appear for court, Gov. Bob Riley issued a $3,000 reward for information leading to Prince's arrest. But authorities have said that no one would receive the money because Prince was caught as a result of police investigations.

Prince was hired as a Gulf Shores police officer in November 2000. He worked with the Selma Police Department from August 1989 until July 1997, according to reports. 

===========

   11/05/2005 - Authorities say a Montgomery police officer was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and attempting to elude after leading police on a high-speed chase this weekend.

 Jemison Police Chief Brian Stilwell told the Clanton Advertiser today that 25-year-old Marquez Lawill Norman was arrested Sunday following a chase on Interstate 65 that had speeds exceeding 115 miles per hour. Norman was traveling with 24-year-old Donell Shamond Harris and 21-year-old Arron Michael Washington on motorcycles.

 All three are from Montgomery and were charged with reckless endangerment and attempting to elude. Harris was also charged with second-degree possession of marijuana. It's unclear tonight if the men are still in police custody.

============

  11/05/2005 - A Montgomery Police Officer found himself on the wrong side of the law last weekend.

 Officer Marquez Norman was arrested Sunday after a high speed chase on Interstate 65.

 Officer Norman was charged with reckless endangerment and attempting to elude after leading Jemison Police on a chase at speeds over 115 mph. Norman was riding a motorcycle when the incident took place.

===========

   11/05/2005  -A Houston County sheriff's deputy has surrendered to face a first-degree theft of property charge after authorities said an estimated $20,000 worth of stolen merchandise was recovered from his home.

 Officer Richard Ducker, who was released on $5,000 bond after his booking Friday, was accused of taking numerous items from Southern Outdoor Sports, where Ducker had worked part-time since 2001.

 Most of the merchandise was outdoor equipment like bows, hunting accessories and bullets, police said.

 Ducker is currently on administrative leave with pay. Sheriff Lamar Glover also told The Dothan Eagle that Ducker was under investigation internally for allegedly violating various policies and procedures.

===========

  10/27/2005 - LEVEL PLAINS, Ala. -- A Level Plains police officer who admitted taking bribes in exchange for waiving traffic tickets has resigned.

According to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, 50-year-old Leonard Sherwood was arrested Tuesday on two counts of bribery of public servants -- the charge is a felony.

The ABI said Sherwood targeted Hispanic males for traffic tickets and then took cash from them for not charging them with the offense.

State police and Dale County authorities had been investigating Sherwood since June.

District Attorney Kirke Adams said he will ask a judge to revoke Sherwood's police certification and permanently ban him from ever serving as a police officer.

He was released from the Dale County Jail after posting bond.

===========

  08/12/2005 - Gulf Shores, Ala. - A former Gulf Shores police officer who fled sexual assault charges in 2004 was found living in Mexico and has been deported to the United States, authorities said Thursday.

 Officer Romney Lynn Prince, 38, was detained Wednesday in Mexico, where he had been living and working at a restaurant in Vinorama, Baja California, FBI Special Agent Daniel R. Dzwilewski said in a statement.

 Mexican immigration officials deported Prince and he was placed in the custody of the San Diego FBI and Sheriff's Office, said Dzwilewski, based in San Diego.

***********

 08/08/2005 - GOLDEN MEADOW, Ala. -- A Golden Meadow police officer has been fired following accusations that he extorted $400 during a traffic stop from an undercover investigator posing as an illegal immigrant.

 Officer Brian Comardelle, 25, of Lockport, was booked by state police on July 29 with felony counts of theft and malfeasance. State police said the arrest stemmed from a three-month investigation.

 While on duty, Comardelle stopped a vehicle driven by an undercover state police detective posing as an illegal alien from Mexico, said Trooper Matt Trahan, a state police spokesman.

 According to a state police statement, Comardelle allegedly "solicited $400 in cash from the agent before releasing him without issuing any traffic citations." Trahan said he could not elaborate.

 Comardelle was released on $1,000 bond. A telephone number listed as his residence had been disconnected.

 On a unanimous vote, the town's Board of Aldermen fired Comardelle on Monday, Mayor Joey Bouziga said Wednesday.

************  

07/27/2005 - A Bowman police officer was arrested Tuesday and charged with kidnapping and committing a lewd act on a minor, according to warrants from the State Law Enforcement Division.

 Officer Harry Lee Tucker, 38, of Branchville was charged with two counts each of misconduct in office and kidnapping and one count each of assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct and committing a lewd act on a minor, according to a news released from SLED.

 According to arrest warrants, Tucker took a 14-year-old girl to the Bowman Police Department and held her there against her will. While at the police station, the warrants say, he touched the girl inappropriately. The warrants also say the officer assaulted the girl after taking her to a remote location.

 Officer Tucker was on duty at the time of the incidents, according to the warrants

***************

 06/28/2005 - An officer suspended without pay because of alleged misconduct, has lost his appeal to have his pay re-instated.

 Arab Police Officer Shane Alldredge is accused of soliciting sexual favors for erasing traffic tickets. He was indicted on 5 felony counts. He appealed his suspension without pay.

This week, Alldredge got a letter saying his appeal was denied in its entirety.

 The Greivance Board met last Thursday in a closed session at Arab City Hall. The group of three Arab citizens heard from witnesses for and against Alldredge. Their job was to determine if the decision to have Alldredge suspended without pay had a legal basis.

Alldredge will remain an employee of the city, but will not be paid.

 Grievance Board attorney Jeff Carr says the board took great care in deciding not to reinstate his pay."The board took great strides in carefully analyzing the evidence and exhibits. And came to the decision they thought was the best," says Carr. 

  ****************

06/28/2005 - A jury of seven men and five women listened intently Tuesday as a Montgomery woman detailed an October incident in which she claims a former city police officer sexually abused her.

 Stephen Eric Watson is accused of groping and kissing Susan Alexander against her will Oct. 13, 2004, at a home on Woodmere Boulevard. Alexander had been hired to clean the home, which belonged to Watson's father-in-law.

 Watson, accused of sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment, resigned from the Montgomery Police Department the following day.

 In testimony that began early Tuesday afternoon, Alexander told the jury Watson arrived at the home about 11:15 a.m. that day and began a conversation with her that turned flirtatious. Watson allegedly pushed her against a wall and kissed her.

Watson also is accused of groping her as she tried to leave the home and again after she had gotten to her car.

"I told him, 'I know your wife. I will not do that. I will not be that woman's nightmare,'" Alexander said.

The alleged victim said Watson initially blocked her exit from the house. When he did allow her to leave, she claims he told her, "No one has to know about this, right?"

Alexander said she called police a few hours later, delaying the call for help out of fear no one would believe her because of her past criminal history.

She admitted to the jury that she had prior convictions for theft and 81 counts of check forgery.

 Watson's defense lawyer, Terry Travis, pointed out that Alexander did not call police until after she'd talked to Watson's wife and father-in-law. He alluded to the fact that Watson's father-in-law, Butch Roberts, filed theft charges against Alexander later that day.

Roberts, who has died since the incident, accused Alexander of stealing prescription drugs, a handgun, some tools and some jewelry.

Alexander told Travis on Tuesday that she had no idea Roberts planned to file charges against her and denied allegations that she called police to focus attention away from herself.

 Alexander's claims were backed by testimony from former Montgomery Police detective William Crisler, who interviewed both her and Watson the day of the alleged incident.

 Crisler told the jury that Alexander's allegations remained consistent through numerous interviews but that Watson's story changed significantly. Deputy District Attorney Brandon Hughes asked Crisler if Watson admitted having sexual contact with Alexander.

"Eventually," Crisler said.

 The former detective said Watson told him he'd kissed Alexander and touched her breast, even after she'd told him no. He also admitted lying to his wife about the incident.

***************

  05/30/2005 - A former Montgomery police officer has been indicted for releasing information and  an undercover DEA agent to a defendant in a drug case. The photo was used on a Web site associated with Montgomery businessman Leon Carmichael, who has been charged with money laundering and drug trafficking.

 George David Salum III, 43, is charged with obstructing justice in the federal drug case against Carmichael and his co-defendant, Freddie Williams. Salum is also charged with unauthorized access of the National Crime Information Center and the Alabama Criminal Justice Information System.

 Salum, who faces up to 15 years in prison, declined comment when reached at his home this afternoon.  His attorney, Julian McPhillips, said he was not expecting the charges against his client. "I thought his role in the matter was so innocent," McPhillips said. "The officer's photograph was already in the public domain. It's like giving someone a glass of water when they get a glass of water from someone else. What have you done wrong?"

 The investigation into Salum, which began at the police department in August, was turned over in November to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida. Retta Goss, a spokeswoman for Leura Garrett Canary, U.S. Attorney for Alabama's middle district, did not give a reason for the local office's recusal in the case.

 Canary's office has in the past asked the courts to force Carmichael to shut down a Web site, which asks for information on witnesses in his case. Carmichael and Williams were arrested in November 2003.  "Site closed down" 

 The undercover DEA agent pictured on the Web site is Raymond David DeJohn, also a former Montgomery police officer. He had worked on the DEA task force in the Carmichael case, and at the time his photo was released was a Prattville police officer.

 Assistant U.S. Attorney Len Register, of the Florida office, said Salum was a lieutenant for the Montgomery Police Department last year when, aided by "others known and unknown" to prosecutors, he allegedly provided the personnel file and a photograph of DeJohn to Johnny G. White Jr., a private investigator working for Carmichael and his lawyers.

"The indictment alleges that Salum knew that White intended to provide the material to Carmichael and/or his counsel for use in attempting to impeach or discredit DeJohn and to intimidate DeJohn and other prospective government witnesses," a U.S. Attorney's press release said.

Salum is also accused of accessing the police department's federal and state crime databases without authorization and gathering information, such as criminal histories, on other government witnesses in Carmichael's case.

By allegedly accessing that information "for personal gain," Salum violated both federal and Alabama law, the press release said.

McPhillips denies those allegations. "I don't think he received any financial reward for it," the lawyer said.

Salum, a 20-year veteran of the police force, retired in September after being placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. At that time, he admitted releasing the photo but claimed he did not know what it would be used for.

>>>> 

  06/22/2005 - An angry outburst by a key witness Friday in a federal drug trial prompted a stern warning from Judge Myron Thompson to either behave or be locked up.

 Sherry Pettis, an employee of Montgomery businessman Leon Carmichael, said she gave allegedly incriminating statements against him several months ago because she was mad at him.

 "I remember that we wanted to get Leon Carmichael," Pettis said angrily and through clenched teeth in response to a question by prosecutor Terry Moorer.

 Thompson ordered jurors out of the courtroom and told Pettis to calm down. She got up from the witness stand and walked a few feet before the judge warned her he would jail her if she made another show of emotion.

Thompson seated a U.S. marshal near her to keep order and brought the jury back in.

 Pettis, who apologized, said she was upset with Carmichael because he posted her photograph on a Web site claiming she and others were working as government informants against him.

S he also said she had fallen out with Carmichael after she had taken some of his money without his permission and used it for gambling.

 Pettis works as a promoter at Carmichael's entertainment center. She testified for more than four hours Friday in the case against Carmichael, who is accused of drug trafficking and money laundering, and Freddie Williams, who is accused of conspiracy.

The two men were arrested after agents found more than 500 pounds of marijuana in Williams' house in November 2003.

Pettis had a more than $249,000 Compass Bank account the government claims Carmichael used to channel illegal drug money.

Prosecutor Moorer mainly questioned Pettis about what she told a grand jury about Carmichael in January 2004. She said at the time that she believed the bank account money resulted from illegal drug sales.

 Pettis said Carmichael told her he had more than $1 million in cash stashed away, and that Carmichael's wife counted $50,000 to $60,000 at his house.

Pettis said a companion of Carmichael's told her that what agents found at Williams' house in November 2003 was Carmichael's, and that Carmichael's wife admitted he had been dealing drugs.

Yet Pettis gave a different story when questioned by Carmichael defense attorney Ronald Brunson.

She told Brunson she and Carmichael never discussed illegal drugs, never tried to get them from Carmichael and that she didn't believe it was the source of the bank account money.

She said Carmichael once told her, "It was stupid for anybody to be doing drugs."

Prosecutors could finish their case as early as Monday, while the defense expects it will need two days to present evidence.

 Also Friday, the prosecution presented testimony from Mississippi officials that a woman, Sandra Jones, was arrested in 1997 at a truck weigh station near Meridian with 137 pounds of marijuana. The drugs were found in bags hidden in between boxes of oranges in the trailer of an 18-wheeler belonging to Carmichael.

 An agent in Texas also testified that the same woman was arrested in 1995 at El Paso's airport with $42,000 in illegal drug money hidden under her clothing. The woman did not disclose the source of the money, the agent said.

**********************

   06/25/2005 - The lead police investigator in the Leon Carmichael drug case is suing the city of Montgomery and several individuals, including Carmichael, claiming his photograph was stolen for use on a Carmichael-case Web site.

 Attorney Roianne Houlton Conner filed the suit this morning in Montgomery County Circuit Court claiming her client, Raymond David DeJohn, has suffered emotional distress.

The suit claims DeJohn's official picture was taken from police personnel files and given to an investigator working with Carmichael's defense team.

 The government tried to stop construction of the Carmichael-case Web site last year, saying it would amount to retaliation against those giving information to prosecutors, but a magistrate cited Carmichael's constitutional rights to freedom of speech, and the Web site was launched.

  The site displayed mug shots of DeJohn and informants who became key government witnesses at trial.

  A federal jury on Friday found Carmichael, 52, and co-defendant Freddie Williams, 60, guilty of a decade-long marijuana trafficking scheme and also found Carmichael guilty of money laundering. Both men are in detention facilities.

 Carmichael and Williams each face 10 years to life in prison on the drug charges, while Carmichael faces up to 20 years behind bars on the money laundering charges.

Carmichael faces sentencing Aug. 22, and Williams will be sentenced on Aug. 24.

 " A D.E.A. agent with has suffered emotional distress?  Boo Hoo!  Say buddy that comes with the job I believe.  What you have is a I smell money opportunity!"  

*************************

  ALABAMA -- An Elmore County Sheriff's Office corrections officer was arrested on domestic violence charges Friday afternoon. Jamie Edward Church 30, of 455 Curlee Road in Titus, turned himself in about 4 p.m., said Sheriff Bill Franklin. He faces misdemeanor harassment/domestic violence charges, arrest reports stated.

 He remained in the county jail under bonds of $1,500, records stated. Since he is a corrections officer, he was held in an isolation cell for his own safety, Franklin said.

 "This arrest stems from a March 18 incident at the Church home between Jamie and his wife, Amber," Franklin said. "At the time we filed a report, but Mrs. Church declined to press charges. We offered to drive her to the courthouse right then if she wanted to sign a warrant, but she declined. Friday, she decided to pursue charges and went to a magistrate. A warrant was issued, and that's where we stand right now. I called Jaime and told him he needed to come in and clear this up."

Amber Church could not be reached for comment.

 Jamie Church is on suspension without pay pending the outcome of the case, Franklin said. He has worked with the department three years, and Franklin called him "an officer with a good record."

 Jamie Church allegedly threw a chair at his wife during the March 18 argument, reports stated. She wasn't injured, but she told authorities she was holding the couple's young child when the chair allegedly was thrown, Franklin said.

"I talked with Jamie when he came in, and he said he was expecting a warrant to be signed," Franklin said. "There's some proceedings going on regarding the custody of the child. He said he understood I had to do my job and was very cooperative."

*********

    May 20, 2005 A Blountsville police officer was suspended and later resigned under threat of being fired this week after it became public he was a registered sex offender.

John Matthew Langston resigned Monday after serving nearly a month as a police officer for the Blountsville Police Department, town officials said. He is listed on the Alabama Department of Public Safety's online sex offender tracking system.

Langston, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor, in 2004 involving a 12-year old female relative. He was given a 12-month sentence but ordered to serve 45 days in work release.

Langston was a Vestavia Hills police officer when he was arrested in March 2003. Efforts to reach Langston on Thursday for comment were unsuccessful.

Revelations of Langston's past created a firestorm in this small Blount County town this week. It also sparked questions about how much the mayor, police chief and town officials knew about him before he was hired and Langston's friendship with the mayor's daughter.

Blountsville Police Chief Michael Harris said Langston was hired April 18. Langston had been working for the Hanceville Police Department before that, he said.

Harris said he did a background check on Langston. A national crime computer showed Langston had been arrested on a sexual abuse charge but showed he was no-billed. But the police chief said he also found Langston's sex offender registration. Harris said he also called the Vestavia Hills police department and was told he had been a good officer.

Harris said he told Mayor Bob Sharpe about all that information. But when the mayor approached the town council about hiring Langston, Sharpe didn't tell council members about the arrest or sexual offender registration, he said.

''He gave them no indication that he was a sex offender or even had been accused of it,'' Harris said. ''I don't do any hiring. I don't do any firing. The mayor does that with council approval.''

Harris said he originally had been asked by Sharpe to consider hiring Langston, who was dating Sharpe's daughter.

Harris said he didn't speak up against the hiring because he was hired in February as the town's new police chief and is still on probation. But he said he did warn the mayor about the possible consequences. ''I told him I was leaving it up to him due to the circumstances, but it's going to bite us. I learned a valuable lesson from it. Next time I'll just pitch a fit,'' he said.

Sharpe on Thursday said the chief didn't tell him Langston was a registered sex offender before Langston was hired. Harris did indicate that Langston had had a problem with a previous marriage and there were claims made but it was a misdemeanor. ''You know, misdemeanors are a dime a dozen,'' he said.

''I knew it involved sexual misconduct, and that's where I began to make my mistakes,'' Sharpe said. ''I should have delved into it much deeper.'' He said he thought a thorough background investigation was done.

 Sharpe said the chief recommended that the town hire him. Sharpe said he couldn't recall if he informed the council of the misdemeanor but he may have omitted it. ''I'd have to go back and check the records,'' he said.

 Langston is still certified as a police officer by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission, Sharpe said. A call to that commission was not returned Thursday.

Sharpe said he quickly corrected the ''error'' when he learned Monday of Langston's sex offender status. He immediately placed Langston on probation, and Langston resigned the same day as he was about to be fired, he said.

Sharpe said he agreed to hire Langston because there was ''dire'' need for a police officer. He said Langston has dated his daughter ''but that had nothing at all to do with his hiring.''

Sharpe said he told Harris that Langston was not to be treated any differently than anyone else in that department.

In the short time he was with the town, Sharpe said he did hear complimentary things about Langston from the public. But, the mayor said, had he been aware he was a registered sex offender he would not have been on the payroll.

*********

  ALABAMA -- Prichard's mayor said Tuesday that he is firing a police officer accused of needlessly stopping a man for questioning, harassing him and fracturing his skull.

 Officer Jason Hunt, who joined the force in March 2004, will have the right to appeal his dismissal to the Mobile County Personnel Board, Mayor Ron Davis said. Hunt, whose termination is effective Friday, could not be reached for comment.

****************

   ALABAMA -- Holmes County Sheriff's Department investigators have arrested 35-year-old Kurt Stout on two counts of sexual battery with familial authority and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. The arrest was made Wednesday night at a relative's home outside of bonifay.

 Stout is an officer at Holmes Correctional Institution in Bonifay. He is being held at the Holmes County jail without bond. Additional charges are expected to be filed in neighboring Washington County.

********************

  05/24/2005 - A Blountsville policeman was suspended Monday morning after Blount County residents alleged that he was a convicted sex-offender. However, John Matthew Langston is listed on the Alabama Department of Public Safety's Criminal sex offender Web site as being convicted of second-degree sexual abuse in Jefferson County.

Blountsville Mayor Bob Sharp reportedly recommended the council hire Langston about a month ago based on his record as a Vestavia Hills police officer. Sharp said he felt the charges were "trumped up."

The Department of Public Safety report says Langston subjected a 12-year-old female to sexual contact. The officer's suspension is expected to be discussed at Monday's Town Council meeting.

===============

  10/18/04 -- Alabama - A 24-year-old Piedmont policeman, his wife and two other family members have been arrested and charged in a drug-dealing scheme.

 Calhoun County sheriff's deputies and Piedmont police arrested Jonathan Everett Eaton at his Aderholdt Road home Thursday. Others charged include Eaton's wife, Delora Ladale Eaton, 20; his mother-in-law, 40-year-old Lora Lee Cross, and Cross' common-law husband, Gary Lee Law, 55.

A search of the home turned up 11 ounces of methamphetamine, more than an ounce of marijuana, and more than $10,000 in cash, Sheriff Larry Amerson said.

Six rifles and handguns, and several pipes used to smoke methamphetamine also were found, he said.

Eaton and the others are charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and second-degree possession of marijuana.

Eaton had been a Piedmont police officer since graduating from the Northeast Alabama Police Academy in Jacksonville in mid-September.

The four were being held at Calhoun County Jail, with bonds of $306,000 each.

====================

  August 30, 2004 -- The so-called "Brown Flu" has reached crippling proportions at the Etowah County Sheriff's Department. Seventy-seven percent of sheriff's department employees called in sick Monday, resulting in 130 of 168 emplyees not reporting to work.

Sheriff James Hayes said employees are upset their pay is much lower than other local police agencies. On top of that, the county commission has hiked insurance rates for employees.

Everyone involved agrees that the sickout is a dangerous situation for people in the county. Due to the shortage of deputies, jail inmates have been moved to common cells, there is no security in the county courthouse, and the county can't transport prisoners to court, authorities said.

================

Officers Involved: Kathy Henderson and 4 John Does

Location: Homewood Alabama

  5/10/2004 -- Cleophus Smith has filed a federal suit accusing the former Homewood police chief and four arresting officers for police brutality. Smith, was arrested on April 20, 2002, and his attorney claims that a video captured by a Homewood patrol car proves that he was beaten by the arresting officers while handcuffed. The video shows the arrest of Smith after he falls off of a 20-foot ledge behind a shopping center. Smith says he did not "fall" over the 20-foot ledge, but that the pursuing officers tackled him. "Even though he has just fallen (in the video), he was yanked up, thrown against a police car and we believe punched several times by at least two different officers," said Wendy Brooks Crew, Smith's Attorney. Crew said Smith suffered broken bones and that he had to be resuscitated twice at the hospital. The three officers shown handling Smith have all denied using excessive force. The officer who surrendered that tape, Kathy Henderson, is also suing the City in federal court. Henderson was fired over a recorded conversation with another officer about stealing air conditioners, though she maintains the two were merely joking.

===================

  03/19/04 -- Alabama - The Shoals officer who claimed he was shot at last month now faces charges and is expected to resign.

Cherokee police officer Jeff Aycock turned himself into authorities Wednesday night. Aycock is accused of falsely reporting a shooting in February.

He claimed that another man forced him to lie-down on the floor then fired a shot at his head.

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