A Black police chief in a small Alabama town who says the mayor ordered him to ticket out-of-town white drivers to generate revenue has settled a lawsuit for $65,000. Eric Pettway says Mount Vernon’s mayor fired him as police chief in November 2025 after Pettway complained that he had to work 4 0 hours a week as a patrol officer plus roughly 25 hours of administrative duties at night without overtime pay, according to his lawsuit. Pettway also angered Mayor Eric Peoples by trying to discipline an officer caught on video tasing, pepper spraying and dragging a man he had arrested in May 2025. Mount Vernon Police Chief Eric Pettway was fired last year over a dispute with Mayor Eric Peoples. He just accepted a $65,000 settlement. (Photo: facebook.com/FOX10News) Approval Mattered The bodycam video of that arrest leaked to the media in November and went viral nationally, leading Mount Vernon police officer Newman Brazier to lose his job in December. A month before, Chief Pettway was terminated. The victim, David Holloway, has also filed a lawsuit against the majority-Black town of about 1,500 people. Pettway, whom the town hired as chief in May 2024, says he could not operate independently because he needed the mayor’s approval for everything he did. “During this time, Pettway did not, and could not, perform the administrative and managerial duties of a police chief,” his lawsuit stated. “Instead, he was expected to exclusively perform the job duties of a patrol officer, including being instructed by Town Mayor Eric Peoples, Council member James May, and other town officials to write traffic tickets, especially to white workers who do not live in the Town, in an effort to generate revenue for the town.” Chief in Name Only Pettway, who runs several social media pages where he teaches firearm tactics, was making $64,000 a year as Mount Vernon police chief. Yet he estimates he worked about 65 hours a week as an exempt employee, which meant he did not qualify for overtime. Instead, Mayor Peoples instructed him to use comp time to make up for the extra hours and reprimanded Pettway when he failed to do so. Because he had no real executive power, Pettway concluded he was just a patrol officer with an inflated title and no real authority over the department’s patrol officers, who did qualify for overtime. “Though Pettway was nominally the Town’s Police Chief, his primary duties were that of a patrol officer,” the claim states. “The mere fact that he was also expected to perform administrative and managerial duties does not excuse the Town from paying Pettway overtime for any time performing those duties after working a full schedule as a patrol officer.” “The Mayor and Council’s oversight of Pettway while Pettway was working as a patrol officer eliminated the opportunity for him to exercise any discretion or independent judgment with respect to matters of significance,” the claim continues. That situation exploded into public view in November 2025 after the Brazier video leaked. ‘Brazier had Prior Arrests’ Brazier joined the Mount Vernon Police Department in 2021 despite several red flags from his time with the Mobile Police Department, according to the lawsuit Holloway filed. “Defendant Brazier previously received disciplinary action while employed with the Mobile Police Department,” the claim states. “Brazier had prior arrests and documented misconduct before his employment with the Town. The Town hired Brazier despite these red flags.” “Reasonable background investigation would have revealed a high risk that Brazier would violate constitutional rights,” the claim continues. A simple Google search would have revealed that Brazier was arrested in 2019 for domestic violence.  Policy Violations On May 10, 2025, Brazier responded to a call from Holloway’s mother after she contacted police because her son was being disruptive. At one point, Holloway held a vape pen in his hand, which Brazier says made him fear for his life and prompted him to taser Holloway. Bodycam video shows Holloway was handcuffed behind his back when Brazier applied the electric shock. “It looked like a vape,” Brazier told local media in December after the video leaked. “But in today’s society, I wasn’t sure if it was just a, you know, just the vape alone or if it had a point or anything like that.” Once inside a jail cell, Holloway, who remained handcuffed, began yelling and kicking the door, which Brazier says led him to pepper spray Holloway. Brazier then dragged Holloway across the jail floor while Holloway wore leg shackles and handcuffs. The incident stayed under wraps until November, when the video leaked to the media. At that point, Pettway told local media he had tried to discipline Brazier but Mayor Peoples blocked him. “Use of force policy, one with a Taser,” he told Fox 10 News. “You cannot use a Taser as a punitive measure. You can’t do that, you can’t use a Taser against a person that is handcuffed, you can’t do that.” “As far as pepper spray is concerned, you can use pepper spray on a subject that is actively resisting arrest. He was already in custody,” Pettway explained. ‘Town’s Policy Makers Were Deliberately Indifferent’ Pettway was fired on Nov. 19, about two weeks after the Brazier video surfaced, and he filed his lawsuit the following day. Brazier was fired in mid-December, and Holloway filed his lawsuit in March, listing Brazier and Mount Vernon police officer Seth Harwell as defendants. “While Plaintiff was restrained and not resisting, Brazier sprayed Plaintiff directly in the face with pepper spray,” Holloway’s lawsuit states. “Plaintiff was then dragged across the floor in shackles. Harwell was present and had the ability to intervene but failed to stop Brazier’s conduct.” “The Town’s policymakers were deliberately indifferent to the constitutional rights of citizens,” the claim continues. Holloway’s lawsuit remains pending and may also end up in a settlement. ‘Deliberately Indifferent’: Fired Black Alabama Police Chief Says Mayor Stopped Him From Punishing Officer After Brutal Arrest Video–Now He’s Getting $65K ...read more read less