A team of journalists who exposed a small town’s predatory policing practices—ultimately leading to the chief’s resignation and reforms in state law—has won a Pulitzer Prize for its work.
Four journalists from AL.com exposed a plan in January 2022 by the police and mayor of Brookside, Alabama to fund the budget of the town by fining and towing cars for what the victims said were fabricated charges.
The town’s annual revenue jumped by $1,233.469 from $431.637 in 2016. These fines were the source of income, not taxes. Fines revenue grew by 600 percent from 2018 to 2020. They now account for over half of the town’s budget (1,200 residents). The Brookside Police Department made more misdemeanors arrests in 2020 than they had citizens.
Four journalists—John Archibald, Ramsey Archibald (John’s son), Ashley Remkus, and Challen Stephens—delved into the town’s budget, interviewed people who had been subjected to police harassment and dragged into court, and thoroughly exposed the abusive system of government-facilitated theft.
The stories…
