By Ashley Remkus and John Archibald and Howard Koplowitz
A former police officer in the embattled town of Brookside has been arrested on a rape charge in Jefferson County.
Deshawn Mark Cook, 26, was booked into the Jefferson County jail on Friday just before 3 p.m. He was released less than three hours later, after posting $20,000 bail.
Jail records state Cook is accused of “rape by force” against a female victim. The online records state the alleged offense happened on May 22, 2021.
It is unclear whether Cook worked in Brookside at that time.
Cook declined to comment on the rape charge, his arrest or his employment status in Brookside. In a phone call with AL.com, he also declined to say whether he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Mike Bryan, the mayor in Brookside, told AL.com on Saturday that Cook “is not an employee” currently.
He declined to answer follow-up questions.
“At this time I cannot make any comments about that,” Bryan said.
Cook wore a Brookside police uniform as recently as Thursday when the troubled town reopened court. Cook directed traffic and took turns as the bailiff in interim Judge Marcus Jones’ courtroom.
The town held court this week for the first time since AL.com published a story that revealed aggressive policing for profit. The story prompted multiple state investigations and heavy public scrutiny of the town and its police officers.
AL.com has reported that several Brookside officers had histories of legal trouble. In a separate case, Cook was indicted in 2019 on a charge of strangling his girlfriend. A Jefferson County judge dismissed that case when the woman failed to show up for court.
Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, who has called the Brookside department a “rogue police force,” did not respond to a request for comment about Cook’s arrest on the rape charge this week.
Mark Parnell, the Brookside town attorney, did not respond to questions from AL.com via email about the rape case or Cook’s employment status. Henry Irby, the interim Brookside police chief, did not respond to requests for comment.
