All Hanceville police officers placed on leave as Cullman sheriff takes over patrols – AL.com
All remaining employees of the Hanceville Police Department have been placed on administrative leave, and the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office will temporarily take over the city’s protection. Hanceville Mayor Jimmy Sawyer and Sheriff Matt Gentry met Thursday following the indictments of the city’s police chief and four other officers on corruption charges and a scathing grand jury recommendation the department be abolished.Beginning at 5 p.m. today, sheriff’s deputies will answer all law enforcement calls and issues in the city of roughly 3,300 people.“This measure is being taken until a permanent solution can be established,’’ according to a statement released on the sheriff’s office Facebook page. “Mayor Sawyer and Sheriff Gentry would like to assure the citizens of Hanceville that their safety and security is an upmost priority.Sawyer, who has not returned calls seeking comment, also posted a statement on the city’s Facebook page saying the Hanceville City Council will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, to publicly discuss the future of the police department.Efforts to determine how many police employees were still working at the department following the indictments were unsuccessful. The “rampant culture of corruption” at the Hanceville Police Department, as described by a Cullman County grand jury, included on-duty drug injections, misuse of criminal databases and distribution of controlled substances to each other and to others, according to the indictments.Five Hanceville police officers, including the chief, were indicated on a range of corruption charges. Also indicted was the wife of one of the officers.(Cullman County Sheriff’s Office)Hanceville’s police chief, 51-year-old Jason Marlin, four officers and the wife of one of the officers were indicted on a combined 26 criminal charges.District Attorney Champ Crocker at Wednesday press conference announced the shocking allegations that included a broomstick routinely used to jimmy open the door to the evidence room, which was allegedly accessed through a hole in the wall.“This is a sad day for law enforcement and at the same time it is a good day for the rule of law,‘’ Crocker said.“There’s nothing more important to us in law enforcement than good, honest law enforcement,” Gentry said. ”When we have those who do wrong, it hurts us all.”In addition to the chief, those charged are Officers Cody Alan Kelso, 33, Drew Shelnutt, 39, Jason Wilbanks, 37, Eric Michael Kelso, 44, and his wife, 63-year-old Donna Kelso.All six were surrendered to the Cullman County Jail Wednesday, and all were released on bond.If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.YouTube’s privacy policy is available here and YouTube’s terms of service is available here.Ad Choices
