The Hanceville City Council moved to dissolve the city's police department and its municipal court system on Thursday, while also appointing a new mayor.
The changes follow the arrest and indictment of multiple officers tied to a grand jury investigation that found HPD had been functioning as a criminal enterprise. Additionally, the jury found that a breach in the agency's evidence room had led to the overdose death of a dispatcher.
Newly appointed Mayor Noland Bradford addressed the department's closure.
"The police department was halted around a year ago now on February 25," Bradford said. "To make things legal, we pretty much have to get rid of everything that's in here. It has to be transferred over to the sheriff department or some other entity…When we dissolve it, that doesn't mean we can't restart it."
According to Bradford, the scale of a renewed and future Hanceville Police Department will largely depend on insurance coverage.
"It doesn't mean we'll never have another police department," Bradford continued. "The insurance will basically call the shots on how small we can start, how big we can be. Based on our budgeting at the time, I would like to start small."
"But can we do that? I don't know," added Bradford.
The Cullman County Sheriff's Office will now take possession of evidence and other HPD-related property. Hanceville will retain all city-owned vehicles despite the changes.
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