“Abolish the police” was a rallying cry during the summer of protest in 2020 and despite the slogan being panned by both Democrats and Republicans, American citizens are using the legal system to see it come to fruition.
According to ABC News, a grand jury in Alabama has recommended that the Hanceville Police Department be “immediately abolished,” following an indictment announcement against five officers, one of their spouses, and the police chief. The charges stem from an investigation into the Aug. 23, 2024 death of 49-year-old Hanceville emergency dispatcher Christopher Michael Willingham who was found deceased on the job with a combination of toxic drugs in his system.
Says Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker:
“[Hanceville Police Department has] failed to account for, preserve and maintain evidence and in doing so has failed crime victims and the public at large,” making the evidence “unusable,”
None of the above have been charged directly for Willingham’s death, but the investigation revealed that a number of people in the department had “unfettered access” and this created an insecure facility ripe for a disaster. The state’s medical examiner reported that the cause of the dispatcher’s death was the “combined toxic effects of fentanyl, gabapentin, diazepam, amphetamine, carisoprodol and methocarbamol,” and the manner of death was ruled an accident.
Here’s a breakdown of the charges:
- Hanceville Police Chief Jason Shane Marlin was charged with failure to report an ethics crime and tampering with physical evidence
- Officers Cody Alan Kelso and Jason Scott Wilbanks were charged with computer tampering, tampering with physical evidence, conspiracy to commit a controlled substance crime and use of an official position for personal gain
- Officer William Andrew Shelnutt was charged with tampering with physical evidence
- Eric Michael Kelso, who was a reserve officer, and his wife, Donna Reid Kelso, were charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance
Put all of these scumbags in jail and close the door on the Hanceville Police Department for good.