Birmingham police chief retires. What the FOP wants in a new chief [Video]

There’s been a big change for the Birmingham Police Department, as Chief Scott Thurmond has announced his retirement. Some officers say they weren’t surprised by the chief’s desire to step away from his role as leader of the department, but some were surprised he would choose to take that step now as the city is dealing with a pretty serious increase in violent crime.Thurmond has been in the Birmingham Police Department’s top position for almost three years, as interim chief for almost six months before being officially appointed to the position in June 2022.Thurmond said, “I turned 50 this year, so I spent 26 of those 50 years here with the city of Birmingham, the Birmingham Police Department. That’s not something easy to walk away from.”But he took that difficult step when he announced his retirement Thursday.However, he didn’t close the door on the possibility he might accept another law …