Brickbat: Friends in High Places
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An Alabama grand jury has indicted Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith on six misdemeanor charges, and Chief Deputy Ralph Williams on one, for knowingly hiring six people—four school resource officers, a jailer, and a deputy—who lacked Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission certification, as required by law. One of those hires was Deputy Andrew Neves-McDonald, whose police certification in Arizona was suspended for misconduct. Smith claims the charges are politically motivated.