HANCEVILLE, Ala.—A small Alabama city placed its entire police force on administrative leave a day after a grand jury recommended the department be disbanded, saying it has “operated as more of a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency.”
Hanceville Mayor Jim Sawyer said Thursday in a statement that the Cullman County Sheriff’s Department will temporarily take over law enforcement duties as city officials mull the next steps.
Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker announced Wednesday that the grand jury had indicted the Hanceville police chief and four of his officers, who are accused of mishandling or removing materials from the department’s evidence room….