From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — Jacqueline Smoke, an attorney for former Birmingham Police Department interim chief Orlando Wilson, has released a statement regarding allegations that Wilson sexually abused a child in Trussville. Wilson recently resigned from his position as interim chief after the allegations were made.
Related story: Birmingham police chief resigns amid sexual abuse allegations in Trussville
Smoke said in the statement that the accusations are false and that they stem from a “custody and child support” dispute between Wilson and the mother of the child that Wilson allegedly abused.
“There has been history of false allegations not rooted in fact from this woman,” she said in the statement. “The allegations of abuse come only after Orlando Wilson was appointed as the interim Chief of Police for the City of Birmingham.”
Wilson was appointed to the position after A. C. Roper retired from the department in November of 2017. His resignation was announced by Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, who said that he was transitioning due to medical issues.
In Smoke’s statement, she said that the resignation was made because of his health and will soon undergo a medical procedure. She did not elaborate on what the procedure was for.
According to Carol Robinson, a petition of protection from abuse order was filed against Wilson a week before he resigned.
“The transition has nothing to do with a petition for protection from abuse containing false allegations of abuse that he had no knowledge existed,” Smoke said in the statement.