A federal court has given a preliminary stamp of approval to a settlement of a court fight over the “policing-for-profit” schemes in Brookside, Alabama, that involved a speed trap, tickets for drivers and towing for their cars.
According to the Institute for Justice, which has been battling in court on behalf of victims, “class members will soon be able to submit claims for compensation and the additional relief obtained by the settlement.”
It was back in 2018 that Brookside officials adopted “an aggressive policing system designed to generate revenue and enrich the town at the expense of thousands of drivers. In just a few years, a handful of officers managed to increase police-generated revenue by well over 600% and squeeze nearly $2 million from unsuspecting drivers.”
The plan, which made national headlines, had the city towing vehicles. Lots of vehicles.
Now the town has promised to ban its officers from actions on Interstate 22 for 10 years, keep nothing of the revenue “generated by its policing and its code enforcement for 5 years,” and then for 10 years will keep only 1%.
‘Policing for profit’: Brookside $1.5M settlement moves forwardhttps://t.co/nnYArpdlWU
— ABC 33/40 News (@abc3340) October 1, 2026
Three years after it made national news for running an outrageous speed trap, the tiny town of Brookside, Alabama has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit over it. https://t.co/euIk86UeFL
— reason (@reason) February 11, 2026
And the town will “implement a slew of transparency measures designed to ensure compliance with these obligations and provide IJ the documents to track those obligations for 10 years, the institute said.
“The court has preliminarily approved a settlement that achieves two ambitious goals,” said IJ lawyer Jaba Tsitsuashvili. “First, it compensates people who were impacted by Brookside’s aggressive towing and ticketing policies, to the tune of $1.5 million in direct compensation. Second, it entrenches meaningful systemic reforms, by severing the link between Brookside’s policing and its revenue. This is the justice that the community deserves. We look forward to final approval after the settlement notice process.”
People will be able to submit claims if they paid for the release of their cars towed by the police department from 2018 to 2022. Others who were charged in municipal court also will be able to submit claims.
The town also “agreed to provide class members an acknowledgment that Brookside’s ‘policy of aggressive policing likely interfered with the Town’s obligation to administer justice equally under law, undermined the public’s trust in the justice system, and raised serious constitutional concerns under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.'”
Chekeithia Grant was one of the victims of the town’s practices and said, “Police are supposed to protect and serve, not ticket and collect. When that gets flipped around, people suffer. We brought this case to remind Brookside of that, and to get the town on the right track. This settlement should do that. And it should be a warning to other towns.”
