Mayor Earl Johnson on Friday released the following statement in response to allegations made by Andalusia resident Tyla Stallworth in a press release issued this week by her Georgia attorney, Harry Daniels.
“On behalf of the City of Andalusia and the Andalusia Police Department, I would like to apologize to Twyla Stallworth for her arrest in February.
“All charges against Ms. Stallworth are being dropped.
“The arresting officer has a clean record with our department, but he made a mistake in this case on February 23rd. He has been disciplined for failing in his duty to know the law.
“When I learned about this incident last week, I offered to meet with Ms. Stallworth. She declined.
“Ms. Stallworth has not filed a complaint with the police department, but her attorney alleges in his release that her arrest was racially motivated. We have reviewed body cam footage of the incident, and see no evidence of racism.
“We have always worked hard in Andalusia to maintain great relationships among our diverse populations.
“In the video released by her attorney, Ms. Stallworth also claims that the police department has failed to respond to complaints she made about her neighbor. We also have reviewed internal evidence that shows the police department did respond.
“I have met with the Andalusia Police Chief and other leaders in the department. We have agreed that the entire department will receive additional training on Constitutional law, the laws of the State of Alabama, and the City of Andalusia’s ordinances, so that we will not have problems like this one in the future.”