Hanceville suspends police department, begins search for new chief

 1662449645 
1741708121

A Hanceville resident shouts down the mayor and the city council at a meeting on March 10, 2025.

Noelle Annonen, WBHM

The Hanceville City Council voted Monday night to suspend its police department until a new police chief can be hired. That chief will be tasked with building a new police department from the ground up. 

The decision came after a grand jury wrote last month that the department was so corrupt, it should be dismantled. It also indicted five Hanceville officers, including the police chief, and called the department as it exists today a public safety hazard.

The vote followed an, at times, unruly meeting in which a frustrated crowd disagreed on potential solutions and frequently interrupted the mayor and the council. Some even called for the councilors to resign or to fire the mayor in that very meeting. 

One resident, Daria Sullivan, argued that before the city decides what to do next, the Hanceville should hold a special council election to replace the current members. 

“You are not responsible for the running of the police department,” Sullivan said. “But you are responsible for knowing what is going on. And that did not happen.”

While some commenters stood in support of the grand jury’s recommendation to abolish Hanceville’s police department, the general consensus was that having a local law enforcement agency would help the city enforce its own codes. 

Mayor Jim Sawyer struggled to keep order at times. Many residents wanted to share stories of past wrongdoings by the Hanceville Police Department, and when he cut them short, the audience’s frustration grew. 

“My opinion is the whole police department needs to be abolished and so does this council,” resident Eric Maldonado said. “And it starts with you, sir!”

Sawyer asked security to remove Maldonado and one other commenter before abruptly closing public comment. 

The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office has been handling law enforcement in Hanceville since the mayor put the remaining officers on administrative leave last month. Sheriff Matt Gentry told those at the meeting that his department can only withstand a few months of covering law enforcement for the Hanceville. His deputies have been working overtime and he wondered if the city might be able to reimburse the county for the cost. Gentry estimated that cost might be close to $25,000 a month. 

When City Councilor Kenneth Cornelius made a motion to suspend the existing police department, some audience members objected. They noted that the officers currently on administrative leave are not involved in the ongoing legal proceedings. But Cornelius pointed out that the city would struggle to pay both the salaries for its officers and the $25,000 to the sheriff’s department. 

Ultimately, the council voted to suspend the department and create a committee that will select a new police chief. That chief will be tasked with rebuilding the police department. Councilors estimated that the process could take anywhere from six months to a year.

 

Judge blocks Trump administration’s ending of protections for Venezuelans and Haitians

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary legal protections for more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela who live in the United States.

Alcaraz beats Djokovic at the U.S. Open and will meet Sinner for Grand Slam final

Sinner is trying to become the first repeat men's champion in New York since Roger Federer won the tournament five years in a row. Alcaraz hasn't dropped a set as he pursues his second U.S. Open title.

Anthropic settles with authors in first-of-its-kind AI copyright infringement lawsuit

A U.S. district court is scheduled to consider whether to approve the settlement next week, in a case that marked the first substantive decision on how fair use applies to generative AI systems.

Under Trump, the Federal Trade Commission is abandoning its ban on noncompetes

Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has called his agency's rule banning noncompetes unconstitutional. Still, he says protecting workers against noncompetes remains a priority.

Anthropic to pay authors $1.5B to settle lawsuit over pirated chatbot training material

The artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay authors $3,000 per book in a landmark settlement over pirated chatbot training material.

You can trust the jobs report, Labor Department workers urge public

A strongly-worded statement from Bureau of Labor Statistics workers comes a month after President Trump attacked the integrity of the jobs numbers they release monthly.

More Front Page Coverage