The sheriff of an Alabama county mired in allegations of abuse was arrested on Monday for hiring officers without state training or certification, according to an indictment.
Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith, 41, was indicted on six misdemeanors in state court, accused of hiring one deputy, four armed school resource officers and one jailer who allegedly didn’t have state certification or training, according to court documents made public on Monday.
Both the deputy and some school resource officers were issued department patrol cars, badges and firearms, according to the indictment.
Smith has come under scrutiny in recent years for the death of Tony Mitchell, a 33-year-old mentally ill man who died of sepsis and hypothermia after being held in the local jail in 2023.
At least 14 law enforcement employees for Walker County have pled guilty or been indicted on federal charges related to Mitchell’s death. Smith, who was first elected sheriff in 2018, has been named in a civil lawsuit filed by Mitchell’s family.
At least one of the officers mentioned in Smith’s indictment previously had his certification suspended in Arizona after he admitted to putting a gun to a woman’s head during a traffic stop, according to sworn testimony during a civil service board meeting last month.
The deputy was hired in late June as a provisional officer, which meant he wasn’t allowed to execute arrests or patrol alone until he completed his state training under state law. But the deputy made three arrests and investigated three deaths, according to civil service board testimony from a fellow officer in May.
Waker County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Ralph Williams was also arrested on Monday for allegedly lying to the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission, saying the officer had been terminated last November.
There were no attorneys listed for Smith or Williams on Monday afternoon. Telephone and email messages seeking comment were left with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.
Smith called the May civil service board hearing a “sham” and “political circus” while he was questioned.
___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
