Mike Jones (Helena)
Mike Jones is the former owner of Event Operations Group in Pelham, former president of the Helena City Council, and former chief of the Brookside Police Department.
Jones founded his event management business in 2006, employing thousands of part-time workers as a contractor to event producers. By 2011 Jones had been named a "Top 40 Under 40" business leader and had 33 full-time employees at newly-opened offices in Pelham's Oak Mountain Business Park. He defeated incumbent Barbara Hyche for a place 2 seat on Helena's City Council in Helena in 2012. He was unopposed for a second term, and was elected council president in 2016.
In September 2018 Jones' company stopped doing business, and he was facing lawsuits from lenders, insurers and vendors for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills. He accepted an appointment to serve as chief of police for Brookside, and then resigned from the Helena City Council effective November 25.
Under Jones' command, Brookside's police department grew rapidly, earning enormous revenues from citations issued in traffic stops. In July 2020 Jones contracted COVID-19 and was placed on ventilator therapy in intensive care.
The department's aggressive practices were detailed in a January 2022 column by John Archibald for The Birmingham News which provoked significant outrage. Jones resigned from the department a few days afterward.
References
- Chapman, Beth (October 10, 2011) "Mike Jones and Event Operations Group continues award-winning work" Shelby County Reporter
- Gould, Cynthia (November 15, 2018) "Helena Council President dodges questions about his private business' unpaid bills" ABC3340.com
- Brooks, Graham (November 26, 2018) "Mike Jones resigns as Helena City Council president" Shelby County Reporter
- Grantin, Linda (July 27, 2020) "Brookside police chief battling coronavirus in ICU". wvtm13.com
- Archibald, John (January 19, 2022) "Police in this tiny Alabama town suck drivers into legal ‘black hole’" The Birmingham News
- Archibald, John (January 25, 2022) "Brookside Police Chief Mike Jones resigns after AL.com report on traffic trap" The Birmingham News