Alabama city leaders vote to replace and rebuild troubled police department

This image from a security camera footage provided by the Cullman County Sheriff's Office shows an individual who works at there sticks his head and upper body in the hole, attempting to open the door to the evidence room, at the Hanceville Police Department in Hanceville, Ala. Officials said the evidence room was not kept secure and could be accessed by a hole on the wall. (Cullman County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A Hanceville resident gives an emotional testimony about whether the local police department should be disbanded, in Hanceville, Ala., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Safiyah Riddle)

This undated photo provided by the Cullman County Sheriff's Office shows a hole on the wall next to the door to the evidence room at the Hanceville Police Department in Hanceville, Ala. Officials said the evidence room was not kept secure and could be accessed by the hole on the wall. (Cullman County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Police Force Arrests

This image from a security camera footage provided by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office shows an individual who works at there sticks his head and upper body in the hole, attempting to open the door to the evidence room, at the Hanceville Police Department in Hanceville, Ala. Officials said the evidence room was not kept secure and could be accessed by a hole on the wall. (Cullman County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HANCEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama city is moving to replace and rebuild its entire police department after a grand jury found a “rampant culture of corruption” on the small police force.

The Hanceville City Council on Monday voted to immediately suspend department operations and search for a new police chief to build a new department and hire employees. The mayor had already placed the entire department on administrative leave.

The sweeping change comes after a grand jury in February indicted four officers and the police chief on a variety of charges that included accusations of mishandling or removing evidence from the department’s evidence room. The grand jury also recommended disbanding the small police department.

The council’s decision followed a nearly two-hour meeting in which some members of the public said it was unfair to department employees who did nothing wrong. Others argued it was time to start fresh. The department has about 12 employees, officials said.

The decision also came on the same day Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker released the preliminary results of an audit of the police department’s evidence room.

Several items were missing from the evidence room, including 67 oxycodone pills, 39 gabapentin pills, 1.5 grams of cocaine and a .25-caliber handgun, Crocker wrote in a letter to the city’s mayor about the findings. He said the audit also found about 30 undocumented firearms in the evidence room.

“These results of the evidence audit are shocking but not surprising,” Crocker wrote in the letter to the city’s mayor.

In a news conference last month, Crocker said the department’s evidence room was not kept secure. He showed photos of a hole in the wall and a green broomstick that was used to “jimmy open” the door.

The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office has taken over law enforcement duties as city officials weigh what to do with the department. Located in the county, Hanceville is 45 miles (70 kilometers) north of the central city of Birmingham.

The State Bureau of Investigations was called in to investigate after a police dispatcher was found dead at work from a suspected drug overdose.