A grand jury dismissed almost 60 criminal cases in Hanceville, Alabama, following accusations of police department corruption.
Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker issued a statement via Facebook on Wednesday, writing that the grand jury found the cases to be “unprosecutable” following an Alabama State Bureau of Investigation audit into the Hanceville Police Department.
The jury “voted to no-bill, or dismiss, 58 felony cases due to the illegal actions of those former Hanceville officers,” Crocker wrote. “Most of these cases involved drugs, and only a few were personal crimes with victims.”
The same grand jury that dismissed the cases also indicted the former Hanceville police chief and four police officers, who are accused of tampering with evidence, in addition to other charges, per WBRC.
The grand jury said the department thrived on “a rampant culture of corruption” and should be dissolved.
In March, the Hanceville City Council voted to suspend the department. Mayor Jim Sawyer also released a statement at that time, saying officials needed to restore the town’s trust in the police, and the only way to do that was to "rebuild from the ground up,” per AL.com.
