Birmingham police chief announces plans to retire, a month after city’s 3rd mass shooting this year
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama police chief announced plans to retire Thursday, just over a month after a mass shooting put renewed scrutiny on the department’s efforts to quell rising gun violence and killings.
Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond, 50, announced at a news conference that he will resign at the end of November, two years into his tenure as the historic city’s top cop.
“It’s not an easy decision,” said Thurmond, who spent more than half his life in the Birmingham Police Department. Thurmond did not give a specific reason for his choice, but said he “had to do what is best for me and my family.”
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin applauded Thurmond for his “commitment to our city, his commitment to the men and women he has led.”
At the end of September, Birmingham was put in the national spotlight A mass shooting outside a nightclub left four people dead and more than a dozen others injured. There were between January and September 122 murders in Birminghamwith the vast majority relating to weapons.
The shooting renewed criticism of how police handle gun violence across the city, and is on pace to break a 91-year record.
“For over a year, Thurmond has failed to properly develop and/or implement a plan that would lead to a reduction in the number of homicides and mass shootings in Birmingham,” state Rep. Juandalynn Givan said in a statement briefly after the mass shooting in September.
Thurmond said he began considering his departure months ago, and that his decision “has nothing to do” with recent events or criticism of the department.
Last week the Birmingham Police arrested and charged a 22-year-old man with murder in connection with the mass shooting that was the city’s third this year.
At the news conference, the mayor described the “last few weeks” as “incredibly challenging,” and praised Thurmond for his swift arrests in connection with the mass shooting.
During the news conference, Woodfin also cited a recently approved $16 million program that, among other things, would help recruit more than 170 new officers to address the department’s shortage.
The mayor has tapped Deputy Chief of Special Operations Michael Pickett, who has served the department for 20 years, to serve as interim police chief once Thurmond steps down next month.