West Blocton PD Under Review

West Blocton, Alabama Mayor Daniel Sims has asked the Bibb County Sheriff's Department to conduct a top to bottom review of his town's police department. He wants a complete investigation into West Blocton Police procedures and practices and recommendations for improvement.  The request follows the resignation of the town's police chief and arrest of an officer on the same day.

Police Chief Josh Horton stepped-down last Friday and the arrest of now former West Blocton officer Jerry Douglas Cannon, Jr. took place last Friday night. Cannon is charged with, "Misuse of confidential information and use of position for personal gain." The timing of the chief's resignation and the 36-year-old officer's arrest are said to be coincidental and unrelated.

According to court records, Cannon had served with the West Blocton Police Department for only six months before he admitted to revealing highly confidential information from the Digital Detection System Dispatch Center and alerting people of the general public and/or suspects of a residence that a search warrant would be conducted.

Cannon is also accused of purchasing marijuana for his girlfriend in February while in a patrol vehicle and receiving payment for the drugs.

In 2016 another West Blocton officer was fired and arrested. Chad Shockley was charged with one count of tampering with evidence, two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and two counts of marijuana possession in the second degree.

Former West Blocton Police Chief Brain Keith Whatley and former reserve officer Craig Baird Arnold were arrested in Tuscaloosa County in 2021 and charged with sexual assault.

With the West Blocton Police force currently reduced to two officers, Mayor Sims has requested the sheriff's office and Woodstock Police provide patrols in the northern Bibb County town of 1,217 residents.