Council reinstates police officer
The desire to move forward is the shared sentiment between the Russellville Police Department and the City of Russellville now that police officer Brett Evans has been reinstated.
RPD Chief Chris Hargett and Mayor David Grissom both said they hope everyone will move past the incident and not harbor any ill will toward either party.
Evans was reinstated at the Nov. 20 city council meeting after an executive session. Grissom said investigator Darrell Tatum revealed the results of his investigation into the allegations made against the officer. Tatum spent 30 years as an investigator with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, according to Hargett.
“The mayor and I spoke, and we both agreed that it would be best to go outside of the department for someone to conduct the investigation,” Hargett said.
Both Hargett and Grissom agreed it was the correct decision to reinstate Evans based on the results of the 14-day investigation.
Hargett said he was surprised when he was informed of the original suspension. He was not in town when the suspension occurred Nov. 6 and said he wasn’t aware of the allegations that were being made beforehand.
“(The department) had received no formal complaints of the specific allegations that were made to the council,” Hargett said.
Grissom said he wasn’t fully aware of the allegations himself until the executive session at the Nov. 6 council meeting.
“It was a surprise to me as well. This was the first time allegations have been made directly to the council during my time here,” Grissom said.
The council’s decision to suspend Evans was a challenged one by some of the community, but Grissom said he is confident in the investigation that took place and with the decision to reinstate Evans.
According to Hargett, when it comes to allegations made against police officers, due process requires that the allegations be investigated before any form of punishment takes place.
“Due process wasn’t followed, at least according to the police department’s rules, but I understand why (the council) made the decision they did,” Hargett said.
Due to the closed investigation, the allegations against Evans were not revealed.
