Selma police chief reports on arrests, prepares city council for police station renovation needs

Selma Police Chief Ettice Brickus told the Selma City Council that her department is continuing to search for the person or persons who fired shots near Memorial Stadium on Oct. 16, causing the Selma High School Homecoming game to end at halftime.

As that investigation continues, Brickus told the council that Selma Police arrested a 22-year-old J’Quell Neeley for discharging a firearm into a daycare center on Selma Avenue on Oct. 15. She said the daycare center was struck by a stray bullet fired during an altercation between two men at George Washington Carver Homes.

Brickus said Neeley was also charged on an unrelated home invasion.

Brickus told the council that she will soon come to them with a list of repairs for the police station. She is among a long line of police chiefs who have told the council that the police headquarters is uncomfortable, smelly and moldy.

“I have a high standard for myself, and I have a high standard for my department,” Brickus said. “We need to present ourselves in a manner conducive to how we want to be perceived.”

Selma Mayor Johnny Moss III asked the council to consider purchasing a new $54,000 Dodge Durango to serve as the chief’s vehicle. The council will consider the request at their next meeting on Nov. 10.

Fire Chief Walter Dailey told the city council that he has hired two new firefighters.   

On Nov. 10 the council will also consider initiating a system that will allow city employees to donate sick hours to colleagues who have run out of sick days, and they will review a $6,500 bill for dumping 181 tons of construction and demolition waste in the Arrowhead landfill in Uniontown.