Sheriff Allegedly Employs Officers Lacking Proper Certifications

An Alabama sheriff was arrested and indicted this week on charges of hiring officers without proper training and certifications.

Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith, 41, was indicted on six misdemeanor charges for violating standards related to employing law enforcement officers. These charges relate to his hiring of a deputy, four armed school resource officers, and one jailer. In addition, Walker County Chief Deputy Ralph Williams, 45, was reportedly charged with one misdemeanor count for providing false information to the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC).

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The indictment claims that Smith hired these law enforcement officers while being aware that they did not meet the state legal qualifications. APOSTC, which is responsible for certifying law enforcement officers in Alabama, has Alan Benefield, its executive secretary, stating that he’s “never seen” a case like Smith’s before.

“I’ve seen a lot in my career,” he told AL.com. “To blatantly defy the law, to ignore the law … It’s highly unusual when we run into a situation like this where an agency’s head just absolutely refuses to follow the law. Most often if there’s any question or someone makes a mistake, it’s cured right away. But obviously, as you’ve seen, that didn’t happen. That’s wrong.”

Walker County District Attorney Bill Adair spoke alongside Benefield on Tuesday during a press conference announcing the indictment. The charges against Smith could result in up to three months in jail and a $500 fine on each charge, according to Adair. But to Smith, the indictment carries another risk — that of his reelection.

“That it is the belief of Sheriff Smith that the District Attorney has purposely misstated/overstated the penalty for the charges against the Sheriff for the express purpose of negatively influencing potential voters in the upcoming election,” Thomas Carmichael, an attorney for Smith, told local CBS affiliate WIAT.

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The sheriff also wrote on his campaign Facebook account in a Monday post — titled “Lawfare Has Made Its Way to Walker County Politics” — that he recently sued the Walker County Commission and the Walker County Civil Service Board over hiring decisions so he could “reclaim the ability” to make his own decisions.

“I take these charges very seriously. This lawfare should stop,” he added. “Criminal charges should not be used to try to influence national elections, and criminal charges should not be used to try to influence the local Sheriff’s race. I intend to vigorously defend these charges.”

Adair stated he was unclear whether the six officers mentioned in the indictment were no longer working, saying he believed they had turned in their vehicles in March but suggesting at least some of them were still working in more limited capacities. One of the officers mentioned in the indictment reportedly had his law enforcement certification previously suspended in Arizona — with sworn testimony during a civil service board meeting stating he admitted to placing a gun to a woman’s head after pulling her over.

Smith has been embroiled in controversy for longer than just recent months. In 2023, a mentally ill man named Tony Mitchell died of sepsis and hypothermia after being held in the county jail, per The Associated Press, which added that at least 14 Walker County law enforcement employees pleaded guilty or were indicted on federal charges related to the man’s death.