Birmingham FOP considers vote of no confidence in BPD chief and commanders

A potential vote of no confidence looms for Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond, Birmingham’s Fraternal Order of Police cites low morale and lack of leadership.

We spoke with FOP Vice President Lawrence Billups about what this means and what the process might look like.

Billups said at a news conference Tuesday that a motion was made at a June 4 FOP meeting to consider a vote of no confidence by the entire body.

He says any member of the FOP can bring a motion to the floor and since Chief Thurmond’s censure motion has been tabled, it must now go before the full members.

“Right now, we have nothing. We’re fighting, we’ve got people dying every day. We had a young man last night. We’ve got people killing people in broad daylight,” Billups said.

Birmingham FOP has around 1400 members.

80%-90% of these members are on the police force of Birmingham Police Departments.

When I spoke with Billups in May 2024, where he again emphasized leadership over lack of officer recruitment, retention and low morale.

Today, I asked Billups what it would take for the FOP to feel confident in their boss.

“We just want someone to come in here and lead us … someone who comes in with enough confidence to say this is the direction we’re going. This is my plan for the Birmingham Police Department,” Billups said.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin issued a statement regarding the situation. His full statement reads:

Let me be clear: I support BPD leadership.

The FOP leadership and I are in constant communication. They understand the challenges our officers face and we work in tandem to solve them.

It is unfortunate that some members of the FOP, those who speak for themselves and not the FOP as a whole, are causing distractions rather than constructive solutions. We hope they join our efforts to bring new recruits to the force.

Today, we also sat down with some Birmingham residents about their confidence in the Chief and how they feel the BPD is working as a whole.

Edgar Roach recently moved to Birmingham 4 months ago from California, “I feel safe, I feel confident when I’m here and I enjoy the vibe of the people. And it’s certainly the men and women of the Birmingham Police Department who do that. possible,” Roach said.

Alfred East has been a lifelong resident of Birmingham, “I’m confident in them… Uh, as I was saying, I wonder if they’re really after a criminal as much as they should be. I don’t know if they really do or not,” East said. He also says that in the 70 years he’s lived in Birmingham, he feels the BPD’s performance has declined over time.

The vote of no confidence will be presented to FOP members at next month’s meeting for Chief Scott Thurmond, as well as Deputy Chief LaQuaylin Mack, Deputy Chief Michael Pickett, Deputy Chief Sheila Finney and Deputy Chief Onree Pruitt.