The man tapped by Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to lead the city’s police department as interim chief is an almost 20-year veteran of the force who was born and raised in the city.
Woodfin on Thursday announced Deputy Chief of Special Operations Michael Pickett will serve as interim chief following the announcement of the retirement of Chief Scott Thurmond.
The mayor called Pickett a “committed public servant and innovative public safety strategist.”
“Under DC Pickett’s leadership, BPD dramatically reduced the dangerous lawlessness of exhibition driving through Operation Knight Rider,’’ Woodfin said. “The results from that months-long operation speak for themselves.
Pickett, 40, joined the Birmingham Police Department in 2004.
He is a graduate of Ramsay High School and Miles College.
“Birmingham is my home,’’ Pickett said. “I love this city.”
“I know this city and I’ve dedicated my career to serving it,’’ he said.
Woodfin also named Capt. Edmond Hanks, a second-generation BPD police officer and 33-year veteran, as interim assistant chief.
“He is literally no stranger to the Birmingham Police Department,’’ Woodfin said of Hanks.
Pickett began his law enforcement career at the city’s West Precinct and went on to become a field training officer. He has served in various roles including the City Wide Task Force and the Crime Reduction Team.
After working stints in patrol, investigations, and Dignitary Protection, Pickett was promoted to the rank of sergeant and then lieutenant.
As a lieutenant, he became commander of the City-Wide Traffic Task Force, Executive Protection Unit, and Security Services Division.
He was also the Law Enforcement Branch Director for the 2022 World Games.
He is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in criminal justice, with a concentration in Homeland Security and Advanced Counterterrorism.
Pickett, in late 2023, took on the task of putting the brakes on exhibition driving and illegal street racing at Woodfin’s directive. The first effort by Operation Knight Rider took place earlier this year.
Pickett’s team analyzed data, and that data was used to narrow down and target hotspots for resource deployment.
“We are going to show these criminal offenders that the streets of Birmingham are not going to be a place where you are going to showcase your vehicle’s abilities,’’ Pickett said at the time.
The operation so far has yielded 143 felony arrests, 57 vehicles seized including 10 stolen vehicles, 86 guns seized, and 10 Glock switches taken off the streets.
“Most importantly,’’ Woodfin said Thursday, “Operation Knight Rider reduced the disruption this lawless behavior created in our city streets.”
Pickett said he will work with Thurmond during the transition over the next four weeks.
“The good news is that none of the leaders standing before you are strangers to one another. We are proud that our bench strength is strong in BPD and that we can – once again – promote from within our own ranks,’’ Woodfin said.
“With the adoption of an aggressive recruitment and retention plan for officers, the independent advisory work of the community-based Crime Commission, continued investment in technology and a lock-step relationship with our partners including Sheriff Pettway and his office and federal law enforcement, I am confident we will achieve the expectations the resident and I have,’’ the mayor said.
“Each of these leaders have been served with a clear directive to grow this department, reduce gun violence and homicides and usher in the policing of the future,’’ Woodfin said.
Pickett said his goal is to motivate and reinvigorate the officers as he also works to beef up the woefully understaffed and rank and file.
“We’ll focus on essentially effective and efficient policing,’’ Pickett said. “We’ll focus on the best strategies in the nation.”
“My No. 1 goal is to make the citizens of Birmingham feel safer, and to make the criminals uncomfortable and fearful in our city,’’ Pickett said.
“The main challenge we have is the one almost every department in the nation faces and that is retention and recruitment but I’m confident with the plan that was just passed, with that plan, we’ll see an increase in officers and more boots on the ground will help every different bureau,’’ he said.
The city council earlier this month approved a $15.8 million plan presented by Woodfin to recruit and retain police officers in an effort to fill empty positions.
“Each bureau suffers just a little bit because of the numbers,” he said, “and if we can increase those numbers, we’ll be able to have more investigators, more special operators for the violent offenders who choose to do things in our city to address it quickly.”
