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A federal judge gave preliminary approval on October 1, 2026, to a proposed $1.5 million settlement over alleged revenue-driven policing in Brookside, Alabama. The deal is not final, and no individual payment amounts or claim-filing deadline have been announced in the current materials. It would compensate two groups—some people whose vehicles were towed at police direction and people charged in the town’s municipal court—and require long-term changes to Brookside’s policing and revenue practices.
What is the Brookside policing-for-profit settlement?
It is a proposed class-action settlement in Coleman et al. v. Town of Brookside, Alabama et al., No. 2:22-cv-423-AMM. The lawsuit challenged alleged financial incentives affecting traffic enforcement and municipal-court adjudication under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The parties negotiated a settlement; the agreement does not amount to a trial verdict establishing that every allegation was proven.
The proposed deal provides $1.5 million in direct compensation and requires structural reforms. On October 1, 2026, a federal judge in the Northern District of Alabama granted preliminary approval. Class members still must receive notice and have an opportunity to submit claims or opt out, and the plaintiffs’ counsel expects to seek final approval afterward. The settlement is therefore not yet final, and the money should not be described as already paid. The Institute for Justice’s case page provides updates on the case.
Who may qualify?
The proposed settlement defines two classes based on conduct between March 1, 2018, and August 1, 2022. The eligibility triggers differ: being stopped by Brookside police alone does not necessarily qualify someone for either class.
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| Class | Who it covers | Fund allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Towing class | People who paid to release vehicles towed at the direction of the Brookside Police Department during the class period. | $1 million |
| Charging class | People charged with offenses in Brookside municipal court during the class period. | $500,000 |
These are proposed class definitions and allocations. The current announcement does not give an individual payment amount, explain how much each claimant might receive, or publish the claim-filing deadline. The agreement says the claims administrator is to prepare class lists after preliminary approval and send notices and claim forms within 75 days of the preliminary-approval order. That is the deadline for sending notices—not a deadline for class members to file claims. The filed settlement agreement contains the notice provision.
How much is the settlement, and when can people claim?
The total proposed compensation fund is $1.5 million: $1 million allocated to the towing class and $500,000 to the charging class. Those class allocations do not establish how much any person will receive; individual payments and distribution details are not stated in the current announcement.
People who may be covered should look for the administrator’s notice and claim form once issued. The available materials do not state a claims deadline or distribution date, so neither should be inferred from the agreement’s 75-day notice-sending provision.
What changes did Brookside agree to make?
Under the proposed settlement, Brookside agreed to reforms aimed at reducing revenue incentives and allowing oversight:
- Vehicle-release fee: Permanently repeal the municipal fee charged to release towed vehicles.
- Interstate 22 patrols: Keep Brookside police off Interstate 22 for 10 years, except when responding to an emergency.
- Town share of policing and code-enforcement revenue: Keep 0% for five years, 1% for the next 10 years, and 2.5% for the following 15 years.
- Transparency and monitoring: Provide transparency measures and documents that allow monitoring for 10 years.
The reforms are terms of the proposed agreement and remain subject to final approval. The town also agreed to provide class members an acknowledgment that its aggressive-policing policy “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.” That is the settlement’s acknowledgment, not a court finding after trial.
What prompted the lawsuit?
The Institute for Justice says Brookside adopted a revenue-focused system in 2018. It reports that fines and forfeitures generated about 49% of town revenue in 2020; the organization’s case materials list $610,307 in fines and forfeitures and $544,077 in Brookside police expenditures funded from those collections for that year. These are figures attributed to the Institute for Justice, not findings from a government audit. Institute for Justice case materials
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Reason’s October 1, 2026, report says Brookside fines-and-forfeitures revenue increased from $82,467 in 2018 to $610,307 in 2020, a reported increase of 640%. The same report says 789 vehicles were towed and 1,273 misdemeanor arrests were made in Brookside in 2020. Those figures are reported by Reason from the lawsuit and related materials. Reason’s October 1 report
Chekeithia Grant, one of the named plaintiffs, put the concern this way: “Police are supposed to protect and serve, not ticket and collect.” The named plaintiffs are Brittany Coleman, Brandon Jones, Chekeithia Grant, and Alexis Thomas.
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- Class notices and forms: The claims administrator is to prepare class lists and send notices and claim forms within 75 days of the preliminary-approval order. This is the notice deadline in the agreement, not the claimant filing deadline.
- Class members respond: After receiving notice, potential class members may submit claims or opt out. They should use the instructions and deadlines in the notice when it arrives.
- Final approval: Plaintiffs’ counsel expects to seek final approval after notice and the opportunity to respond. The current materials do not establish when the court will decide whether to grant it.
For the case record, consult the Institute for Justice case page and the filed settlement agreement.
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