“Today, the bell of justice has reverberated for every citizen of Selma,” Brown said. “The sound of the bell ensures a safer Selma. We are extremely proud to have partnered up with the fine men and women of the Selma Police Department and our federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to return normalcy, democracy and freedom to the city of Selma.”

Raids began at 6 a.m. and lasted for five hours, Riley said, and continued throughout the morning. Arrests were not limited to one area, he added.

Riley said in meetings with Brown, they discussed some of the problems facing Selma and in less than 14 days, Brown helped him get the ball rolling.

“This is so important to the city of Selma, and I am very passionate about crime and doing something about it,” he said.

Riley said he was grateful for all the support that was provided. He was especially grateful no one was injured.

“Many people have been arrested and none of us have been hurt,” he said. “None of us were forced to hurt anyone else, and I think that is great. We were able to do our jobs and nobody got hurt. We will continue to operate on that level.”

Most were arrested at their homes, Riley said, and did not provide resistance.

The operation, Brown said, was the largest in the area in 17 years.

“I think it’s fair to say we haven’t had this type of collaboration with so many different law enforcement entities coming together to take action since about 1995 when the Uniontown cases came about,” he said.

Riley said there were more than 20 officers from the Selma Police Department involved. 11 officers with the Demopolis SWAT team backed up this group, Demopolis Police Chief Tommy Reese said. Some of the legwork for the Wednesday raids was laid years ago, Reese said.

“Chief Riley and I met in 2009 at a conference in New Orleans and we talked about some of his problems over here,” he said. “We made a pact that he would come over to Demopolis and help me and I would help him. Some of the drug problems here were coming to Demopolis and vice versa. We have to network to prevent that.”

The bust, District Attorney Michael Jackson said, will have an impact on criminal activity. But, he and Brown agreed there are other criminals waiting in line to take their place.

“Anytime you have a big roundup, that will calm things down for several months,” Jackson said. “It doesn’t last because you will have somebody step in, but it does slow things down.”

When other criminals do step in, Riley said law enforcement agencies will be ready.

“This is just the beginning of a continued effort, not only by the Selma Police Department, but by all agencies involved here, to make Selma and Dallas County safe,” he said.