Vincent mayor offers advice to Hanceville leaders as future of police department is discussed
If the Hanceville City Council decides to follow through on the grand jury recommendation to abolish the police department, it wouldn't be the first time that's happened in Alabama.
Vincent Mayor James Latimer said he knows what it鈥檚 like to be exactly where Hanceville city leaders are. He said what led to the disbandment of his PD was a dark time for the community, but he feels good about the decisions they made and has some advice for Hanceville leaders.
There were three officers that made up the Vincent Police Department, protecting just over 2,000 residents. But when a racist text from an officer was made public in 2022, the department was disbanded.
鈥淚t was a rough time, obviously, for everybody, myself included, everybody on the city council," said Latimer. "But we tried to stay open and honest, and we did what we thought was right. And that's the only thing that you can do in that kind of situation. It's a tough road to hoe. Just tell the truth. Lay it out there, and you'll be okay.鈥�
According to Mayor Latimer, since Shelby County deputies took over law enforcement duties, they've done a great job.
They have two deputies who act as school resource officers and two deputies dedicated to patrolling Vincent. And they're paying the county about the same amount it cost them to run their three-man department. But the mayor would like to have their own department again someday.
鈥淗opefully in the future, we can go back to having our own police department because I do believe having your own police department is advantageous because they're members of the community," said Latimer. "They're local.鈥�
If the council votes to abolish the Hanceville police department, they would then negotiate with the Cullman County Sheriff's Office to decide how many deputies to dedicate to the community and how much Hanceville will pay them to do that. We'll keep you posted on what they discuss and if they make that decision.