Everyone knows, former or should be, Huntsville Police Officer Billy Ben Darby has been convicted of murder in the wrongful death of Jeffrey Parker. Great, a bad cop has met with the justice he deserves. So, what’s the problem? According to WHNT TV’s Brian Lawson:
HPD spokesperson tells News 19 on 6/14, "There are no changes to Darby’s status." We've been told Darby is exercising his 'accrued leave.' Not clear how much he has, how much is left. But he remains a Huntsville City employee. Sentencing is Aug. 20. @whnt
— Brian Lawson (@BrianLawson15) June 14, 2021
So, while not employed as a police officer, Darby is still employed by the City of Huntsville. The ramifications are astonishing. Is this the way a corrupt mayor pays an assassin for doing his dirty work? If it isn’t it certainly could be. And how can you tell the difference. Darby doesn’t need to be “employed” to collect his severance. Tommy Battle and the Police Chief should determine what if anything Billy Ben Darby is owed in terms of leave and benefits, pay him whatever it is, and immediately sever whatever relationship the City of Huntsville has with the convicted murderer.
That the City of Huntsville and Mayor will support an employee who is a convicted murderer and even defy the will of the court and a unanimous jury definitely sends the wrong message to already misguided cops who need retraining as it is. Their emboldenment by the Mayor and Chief is dangerous and irresponsible for the community.
I had previously refrained from calling for the resignation of the Mayor Tommy Battle but now I must also chime in to demand his resignation – immediately after he dismisses the fundamentalist Police Chief Mark McMurray. Better yet, Tommy Battle should probably catch a jet to Mexico and announce his resignation after he crosses the border.
This case stinks really bad. There has to be more to it than what’s apparent at face value. It’s impossible to ignore the Police Chiefs extremist fundamentalist cult leanings in conjunction with Tommy Battle’s apparent racketeering real estate dealings. To suggest the the whole thing smells like a brokered deal with Rock Church, the religious cult that got a sweetheart deal to purchase the former Butler High School would be an understatement.
I can’t fill in the details, that’s what the FBI is supposed to do, but all the circumstantial evidence is there and it’s ridiculous to simply say the devil’s in the details when the proof is in the pudding and there’s 200 gallons of pudding to investigate. As noted before, the FBI is apparently so corrupt and/or so incompetent that they are clearly a part of the problem either way.
This is, by the way, why I opposed the FBI moving any of it’s training operations to Huntsville. We have enough trouble with organized crime without their jumping in to help obfuscate for crimes like child molestation, human trafficking, racketeering etc. They are supposed to put the criminals in jail, not act as some sort of benevolent referees between crime families.
Unfortunately, it has become obvious that half the crime in Huntsville these days is in fact between opposing crime families. From Birmingham to Nashville to Los Angeles the tentacles are there to be investigated by a legitimate law enforcement agency of which we have none.
In the olden days of Joe Davis everybody knew who the crime bosses were and everybody knew it was a good ole boy crime family. Somewhere along the way it seems to me that particular good ole boy family lost its power and better forces prevailed. Then Tommy Battle, waiting in the wings, came along with his cadre of thugs from Birmingham. A long term takeover that ultimately is as bad or worse than what we had before.
Hay Tommy, pack your shit and go away. The continued employment of an assassin is off the scale. And, probably prosecutable at face value – if the FBI wasn’t so corrupt.
©2021 – Jim Casey
