HANCEVILLE — There appears to be no easy answer as to how the city of Hanceville should proceed with its police department following a tumultuous special called meeting Monday, March 10.

A grand jury recommendation for the Hanceville Police Department to be abolished along with the criminal indictments of several former officers mobilized a flood of residents to the city’s previous council meeting Feb. 27. After many residents spilled over into the hallways of Hanceville City Hall, council members elected to continue the discussion on Monday at a larger venue, the nearby civic center.

Residents hoping to find closure on the matter, however, were left disappointed.

Mayor Jimmy Sawyer opened the meeting by expressing that Monday’s meeting would not be a continuation of grievances and instead limited speakers to explaining their desire on how the council should move forward. After 20 minutes of public comments, two speakers were asked to be removed from the podium for not sticking to the pre-approved talking points.

Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry was then asked to clarify how the process would work if the council were to abolish the department and hand over law enforcement services to the CCSO.

CCSO deputies are currently tasked with patrolling the city.

Gentry explained CCSO would need to hire approximately 20 additional personnel, including dispatchers, in order to completely take over services. He estimated the total cost would amount to roughly $1.7 million annually, which the city would be responsible for reimbursing. Council member Kenneth Cornelius said the current annual operational budget of the department was $1.5 million.

Gentry also explained that deputies currently patrolling the city were doing so during their off days and requested that the city reimburse the county around $25,000 in overtime pay until a final decision was reached.

The majority of residents during the previous meeting expressed their desire for the department to stay under the city’s control, but to do so responsibly and with appropriate oversight. Council members on Monday searched for an adequate middle ground which would allow for time to rebuild the department while still maintaining a constant police presence through the CCSO.

Cornelius explained that it would be impossible for the city cover the CCSO overtime expenses while also paying the salaries of the 12 current employees, who have been cleared of wrong doing and placed on paid administrative leave from the department.

City clerk Tania Wilcox said the salaries of the remaining employees also amounts to around $25,000 each month.

Gentry offered the council a temporary extension of 30 days for reimbursement costs which allowed the council a small amount of leeway to appoint a hiring committee to vet and select a new police chief who will then be tasked with “rebuilding the department from the ground up.” A task which will include rehiring the department’s current employees.

Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker offered his own suggestion to Sawyer in a letter addressed to the mayor and council members, which was also released publicly. In the letter, Crocker recommended that if the council chose to rebuild HPD, that the department only be tasked with enforcing traffic violations and misdemeanor cases and that any felony matters be deferred to the CCSO or the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Crocker said the recommendation was based on preliminary findings of an audit of HPD’s evidence locker performed by State Bureau of Investigation Agent Jamie King which determined a substantial amount of illegal narcotics were missing.

Missing items included:

— 216 grams of methamphetamine

— 1.5 grams of cocaine

— 67 Oxycodone pills

— 4 Adderall pills

— .5 grams of heroin

— 4 Clonazepam pills

— 39 Gabapentin pills

— 5 Tizanidine pills

— 5 Methocarbamol pills

— 1 strip of Suboxone

— 1 .25 caliber handgun

The letter also stated that around 30 undocumented firearms had been discovered inside the evidence room.

Crocker said he was particularly concerned with a report from the Alabama Department of Public Health which listed Hanceville as having the highest per capita rate of EMS calls related to drug overdoses in the state.

The report (https://opioidcdr.ua.edu/emsoverdoses.html) referenced by Crocker is based on a three-month window between January and March 2024 and shows 25 calls were made within the city of Hanceville to EMS providers for overdose-related incidents. These numbers equal just over 7.5 calls per 1,000 residents. Thirty-seven calls (or nearly two calls per 1,000 residents) were placed elsewhere in Cullman County during the same time period.

The report shows 56 overdose-related calls were placed in the city of Hanceville during 2023 (a rate of 17.13). One-hundred and sixty-seven calls (a rate of 8.67) were made in other parts of Cullman County.

Patrick Camp may be reached by email at patrick.camp@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 238.