After Mayor Darrio Melton made claims regarding an uptick in federal indictments by the Selma Police Department (SPD), some Selma City Council members expressed doubt due to the lack of documentation to prove such an assertion.

SPD Chief Spencer Collier was disheartened by such doubts.

“As Chief, I recently said [the] lack of proper equipment and the horrible and unsafe condition of our fleet was hurting morale more than anything,” Collier said. “Unfortunately, this may be worse.”

According to Collier, the SPD issues a press release or holds a press conference, sometimes both, to announce “large-scale indictment round-ups” stemming from investigations involving the local department and its state and local partners.

However, Collier said, sometimes that information is not made public for fear that other possible targets might be alerted to the department’s efforts.

In 2018, Collier said, the SPD, in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), served 18 Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) indictments following lengthy investigations.

“Prior to that, Selma PD had never made or assisted in an investigation that led to a single VICAR indictment,” Collier said. “It hurts the morale of the officers when elected officials claim no proof of such indictments.”

For that reason, Collier is inviting every member of the Selma City Council to ride alongside a SPD officer in a department patrol car.

“In an effort for better understanding and better communication, I would like to invite every council member to attend a ride along with one of our officers,” Collier said.