DOTHAN, AL — 12 police officers in Dothan, Alabama, who were apparently members of a domestic hate group, have been found to have set up and falsely accused over 1,000 Black men with the intention to put them behind bars even though they were innocent.
According to reports, a narcotics team consisting of at least twelve white police officers supervised by Lt. Steve Parrish, who is now Dothan’s Police Chief, and Andy Hughes, Asst. Director of Homeland Security for Alabama, regularly planted drugs and weapons on innocent Black men.
Once arrested and charged, the wrongly accused Black men were not given due process. District Attorney Doug Valeska, who prosecuted in those cases, was apparently aware of the scam and offered protection for the involved officers instead.
More than 1,000 innocent Black men were falsely prosecuted and most of them are still serving their sentences.
Over the years, the families of the wrongly convicted Black men were calling for justice but it has always been ignored. It was only until a group of conscientious White police officers noticed the cases and alerted the Internal Affairs Division that a full investigation ensued.
Authorities confirmed that an investigation on the cases is currently ongoing and a special prosecutor from outside of Alabama is handling the case.
