Alabama Cop Plots Murder and Cover-up; Keeps Job

The headline just doesn’t do this one justice. Let’s try again and pretend that headline space is really long because it should read…

White Alabama cop plots murder and cover-up of black Alabama man, city pays 35k in hush money, cop keeps his job, not long after the audio posted above was recorded the same officer was key in clearing a fellow officer of any wrong doing in the death of another black man who was, say it with me now, unarmed!

You just can’t make this stuff up.

According to Vincent Bias, Officer Troy Middlebrooks was part of a two year long program of systematic harassment against him by local police because he was black and with a white woman. A brother-in-law to Bias, trapped in the middle and a target of manipulation for Middlebrooks, became concerned about the harassment and a particular conversation with Middlebrooks so he decided to record it.

Bias used the recording to pocket $35,000 in hush money and Middlebrooks is still patrolling the streets of Alexander City, maybe right now as you’re reading this. And as mentioned in my super title, a short time after this recording was made Middlebrooks was the first responder and a key part of the defense for a fellow officer who was involved in the death of another, unarmed, black man. The Guardian reported today…

“In March last year, Middlebrooks was the first Alexander City officer to arrive at the scene when officer Tommy Maness shot dead Emerson Crayton Jr as Crayton drove his car out of a parking space at the Huddle House restaurant in Alexander City following an argument with staff over his late-night food order.”

You can wait for the Lifetime movie version or the very long and sordid details are all there in that Guardian piece if you’re down for the drama. Suffice it to say now that the recording is out everyone involved is doing their best to spin themselves out of any involvement or to point their finger in the direction of someone else. Middlebrooks says one thing, officials say another.

The chief at the time says he was against the payoff, that there was another side of the story to be told. That full story may yet be heard because there is a high powered Lawyer for the NAACP representing Bias and it sounds like the Alabama AG is making inquiries.

Just like any good daytime drama should be this one is, to be continued…