Former MPD officer arrested, charged with kidnapping

Rebecca Burylo,

A man arrested last week and charged with kidnapping a young woman and also attempting to entice a 13-year-old into his car is a former lieutenant with the Montgomery Police Department

Bessemer police on May 21 arrested George David Salum, 53, on charges of first-degree kidnapping, enticing a child, eluding police and resisting arrest.

Detective Kenneth Reese with the Criminal Investigations at the Bessemer Police Department, said police received a call at about 7:30 a.m. May 21 concerning a white male having approached a 13-year-old girl.

Reese said a group of children were waiting at a bus stop when one girl was approached by an adult male, who later was identified as Salum. Witnesses said Salum offered the girl money to get into his car and leave with him, but she refused, according to Reese.

Police began a search for Salum's silver Hyundai sedan, but when they found it about noon with Salum inside and attempted to pull it over, he fled. Police pursued the vehicle to the Hoover-Bessemer city limits, where Salum stopped and was arrested without incident or injury.

A passenger in Salum's car, described by police as a woman in her 30s, told officers Salum had abducted her.

Salum had been living in an alcohol recovery house in Bessemer and had no previous run-ins with the law there, according to police.

Local attormey Julian McPhillips represented Salum when he faced allegations in 2005 of improperly using his office and selling the identity of an undercover officer.

The incident was related to the federal drug trafficking arrest of Montgomerian Leon Carmichael, who in June 2003 had built a $1.8 million, 3,000-seat entertainment facility in west Montgomery. Carmichael was arrested in November 2003 after federal agents found weapons and more than 500 pounds of marijuana. He was convicted in 2005.

A jury found that Salum had sold the police ID photo and personnel file for undercover officer Raymond David DeJohn — as well as police records and background on four prosecution witnesses — to Carmichael. DeJohn's ID photo later appeared on Carmichael's website under the banner "WANTED," along with photos of the four other witnesses.

McPhillips said he is surprised at the current charges facing Salum, adding that he always thought Salum was a fairly decent man having served in the police department for about 20 years.

"Deep down inside, he's a good guy, I don't know what went wrong," McPhillips said. "They are only allegations still. I hope it's not true, what he's been accused of."

Salum is currently being held under $80,000 bond in the Jefferson County Jail.