Prichard Police Officer Arrested on Charges of Civil Rights Violations, Bribery, Evidence Tampering, and Extortion

MOBILE, AL - A Prichard police officer has been arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with federal crimes he is alleged to have committed in his capacity as a law enforcement officer.

According to court documents, Emmanuel Naman Dotch, II, a police officer with the Prichard Police Department (PPD), has been charged with multiple criminal counts, including civil rights violations, conspiracy, taking bribes, tampering with evidence, and extortion.

The criminal complaint alleges that Dotch covered up crimes and concealed evidence for violent individuals to assist them in avoiding prosecution. The complaint affidavit further alleges that Dotch conspired with other PPD officers to conduct unlawful traffic stops and detentions of victims to deprive them of rights secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Finally, the charges allege that Dotch extorted individuals for bribes in exchange for letting them go free from arrest and agreed to accept corrupt payments to commit illegal acts, including transporting bulk marijuana, all while acting under the color of law as a police officer. As with all charges, this defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

This case was the result of the outstanding collaboration and coordination of the Alabama Homeland Security Task Force, along with state and local partners. United States Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama said, "I would like to thank the talented and dedicated law enforcement agents of the HSTF and our partner agencies who brought this investigation forward. The success of this case demonstrates the strength of interagency cooperation and the unwavering commitment of law enforcement partners to protecting the community and holding criminals accountable - no matter who they may be."

This Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation collected information from numerous sources and spanned a substantial timeframe. Members of the public with information that may be relevant to this case should reach out to the FBI online at https://www.tips.fbi.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or by phone at 251-438-3674. Information may be submitted anonymously.

This arrest is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Mobile comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, ATF, the United States Marshals Service, DEA, the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, Mobile Police Department, and the Mobile District Attorney's Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama.