By james art Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond has announced his retirement after 26 years with the department and two years as chief. The head of the Fraternal Order of Police in Birmingham reacted to the news. Vice President Lawrence Billups said the retirement was not surprising, but the timing was.
“We knew he turned 26 in November. With everything going on right now, it kind of surprised us,” Billups said.
He hopes to see more synchronicity in the department.
“One of the things that needs to change is that the command staff needs to be on the same page. They should actually come up with something to give to men and women. This is what we have been missing for almost a decade now. We haven’t had any structure lately because Patrick Smith hasn’t given us a path to follow.
The FOP criticizes the staffing levels of the Birmingham Police Department. However, Billups doesn’t think a change in leadership is the answer to recruiting and retention.
“Thurmond’s departure really won’t affect staffing levels. They come with the plan the mayor unveiled last week. We gave this plan to the mayor back in May,” Billups explained.
Thurmond replaced Chief Patrick Smith in 2022. Billups said he has not lived up to expectations.
Thurmond is a good human being, he is a good man, he has a great heart. But that doesn’t give you the leadership qualities you need to do what you need to do.
Billups argued that personnel became more of an issue under Thurmond than under Smith. For some of the FOP members, this will be there third boss.
“The feedback I’m getting is we’re just going to wait and see,” Billups said. “Many of the older ones have gone through three bosses now. This will be the third and you just wait and see the situation. You can’t be too happy about it, you can’t be too sad about it.’
Billups said he asked the mayor if the FOP could be involved in the decision to select the next chief.