Birmingham Police Department

The Birmingham Police Department (BPD) is the police department of the city of Birmingham, Alabama, in the United States. The department operates in an area of 148.61 square miles across two counties (384.91 km2) and a population of 212,237 people.

Birmingham Police Department
Patch of the BPD
Patch of the BPD
A BPD Officer's Badge
A BPD Officer's Badge
AbbreviationBPD
MottoTo Protect & Serve
Agency overview
Formed1871
Employees1,100
Annual budget$89.4 Million (FY 2019) [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionBirmingham, Alabama, USA
Map showing jurisdictional area
Size148.61 square miles (384.9 km2)
Population212,237
Legal jurisdictionAs per operations jurisdiction
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters1710 1st Ave N
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Police officers909
Unsworn members260
Agency executives
  • Scott Thurmond (FN), Chief of Police
  • LaQuaylin Parhm, Assistant Chief
  • Sheila Finley, Deputy Chief of Patrol Operations
  • Cedric Stevens, Deputy Chief of Investigative Operations
Bureaus
3
  • Administrative Operations
  • Patrol Operations
  • Investigative Operations
Facilities
Precincts
5
  • North
  • South
  • East
  • West
  • Tactical Operations
Other facilities
8
  • City Jail
  • Airport Substation
  • School Services Substation
  • Civic Center Substation
  • Southwest Substation
  • Police Academy
  • Range and Training Facility
  • Horse Stables
Website
police.birminghamal.gov

History

Founding and early history

Birmingham Police Evening Shift, Year Unknown

When Birmingham's first city government took office in 1871 under Mayor Robert Henley, he appointed a City Marshal, O. D. Williams, to direct the efforts of two patrolmen, Robert Bailey and Henry Clay Atkins. Henley made himself available to assist with patrols if needed before he was forced to resign due to tuberculosis.

The second administration, under James Powell, took office on January 6, 1873 and installed W. G. Oliver as Marshal. He initially commanding a force of three patrolmen, Ed Taylor, Robert Bailey and A. Robinson, but the young department was expanded with ten new recruits over the course of that year. Those included W. L. Cantelou, Jule Wright, James Armstrong, William Harris, J. D. Lykes, M. Hagerty, William Clay, J. L. Ellison, W. W. Coxe and John Coxe. That force held strong for the next year, but was reduced back to five men, headed by E. G. Taylor, during William Morris' second administration in 1876. Under Thomas Jeffers's administration, it was reduced back to three, with Ben Plosser commanding William Seay and John B. Lewis. Plosser was succeeded by L. M. Teal in 1878.

Mayor A. O. Lane elevated the city government beginning in 1882. He brought W. G. Oliver back as Marshal and also appointed John Thompson to serve as Captain of Police, commanding officers G. W. Merritt, J. A. Brock, J. A. Mingea, W. S. Nelson, J. S. Barksdale, C. K. Dickey, G. J. Tomlin and T. P. Hagood. The annual payroll for the department was $540 in 1882. A new set of uniforms was required to be worn while on duty.

In 1884 Frank Gafford and O. A. Pickard succeeded Oliver and Thompson as Marshal and Captain, respectively. Gafford oversaw the organization of the city's first professional Fire Department in 1885. J. H. Mingea, J. G. Smith, William Burwell, J. B. Donelson, H. U. McKinney, T. J. Boggan, A. H. Maynor and James McGee were sworn in as new officers that term. The department's payroll for 1886 had risen to $970.

For Lane's third term, Pickard was elevated to City Marshal. Newly-sworn officers included J. D. Anderson, Charles Martin, J. M. Nix, W. M. Turner, W. J. Carlisle, A. L. Sexton, R. M. Saunders, W. H. Pinkerton, T. Z. Hagood, Richard Smoot Jr, James Turner, B. R. Childers, Thomas Hart, J. S. Oldham, O. M. Hill, R. H. McCullum and James Hillary. The city's expense for the salaries and operation of the department in 1887 reached $12,500.

The first Birmingham Police officers to lose their lives in the line of duty were George Kirkley and J. W. Adams, who were killed in a shootout following the robbery of the Standard Oil offices on March 27, 1900.[2]

The Birmingham Police Department, with the help of U.S. Steel, vigorously investigated and targeted labor activities during the 1930s and 1940s. Information was fed to a "Red Squad" of detectives "who used the city's vagrancy and criminal-anarchy statutes (liberally reinforced by backroom beatings) to strike at radical labor organizers." In the 1950s, the investigations shifted from labor to civil rights activists.[3]

Racial integration

In 1963, the Birmingham campaign pushed for racial integration and faced violent responses from the police department, especially with the Children's Crusade. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his Letter from Birmingham Jail while under arrest in Birmingham during the Civil Rights protests. In 1966 the department hired its first ever black police officer, Leroy Stover, who suffered racial abuse in his first weeks on the force but went on to become Deputy Chief of the department.[4] The second black officer, Johnnie Johnson Jr., hired the day after Stover, went on to become the city's first black chief of police. Johnson was appointed to the post by Richard Arrington, the city's first black mayor, in 1992.[5][6]

Organization

Chief of Police

The Chief of Police is a sworn member of the police department appointed by the Mayor of the City of Birmingham. All members of the Birmingham Police Department report to the Chief.

Assistant Chief

The Assistant Chief reports directly to the Chief of Police and is also the commander of the Administrative Operations Bureau.

Internal Affairs

The Internal Affairs unit is responsible for reviewing complaints of officer misconduct. Internal Affairs reports directly to the Chief of Police.

Public Information Officer

The Public Information Officer's primary responsibility is to provide information to the public and the media regarding the department.

Administrative Operations Bureau

The Administrative Operations Bureau consists of the Professional Standards Division and Support Services Division as well the Technology, Budget, Inspections, Grants and Parking Enforcement Units.

Professional Standards Division

The Professional Standards Division consists of the Payroll, Hiring, Accreditation and Training Units.

Support Services Division

The Support Services Division consists of the Records, Report Review, Property Room and Corrections Units.

Field Operations Bureau

This unit was formerly called the Patrol Bureau. About half of all the policemen in the department are assigned here. [7] It consists of the five police precincts, the Mayor's Security Detail and the Community Services Division.

Community Services Division

The Community Services Division consists of Officers Police Support for the Alabama State Fair,Youth Services, Crime Prevention Officers, Chaplains and Community Service Officers.

Investigative Operations Bureau

The Investigative Operations Bureau consists of the Homicide/Robbery Unit, Crimes Against Property, Vice Narcotics, Special Victims Unit and Forensics Services.

Rank structure

The BPD uses the following rank structure:[8]

Insignia Rank title Information
Chief of Police Commander of the BPD.
Assistant Chief Second-in-command.
Deputy Chief Commander of a Bureau.
Captain Commander of a Precinct or Division.
Lieutenant Shift commander within a Precinct, assistant commander of a Division, or commander of a Unit.
Sergeant Supervisor
Police Officer

Chiefs of Police

Since 1871, there have been 34 appointed chiefs of the Birmingham Police Department. W.G. Oliver was appointed twice, serving from 1873-1875 and again from 1881–1882. Jamie Moore was the longest serving chief of police in Birmingham Police Department History, serving for 16 years.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Birmingham Police Department in 1871, 47 officers have died in the line of duty.[9]

Rank Name Date of Death Cause of Death Age Location
Police OfficerJ. Wafe Adams03-28-1900Shot and killed along with Police Officer George W. Kirkley while attempting to arrest a suspect they saw commit a robberyN/AN/A
Police OfficerGeorge W. Kirkley03-28-1900Shot and killed along with Police Officer J. Wafe Adams while attempting to arrest a suspect they saw commit a robberyN/AN/A
Police OfficerWilliam P. Walton03-18-1902Shot and killed at the home of a suspect believed to have been part of an assault56On Morris Street, in between 8th Street and 9th Street
PolicemanJames H. Mullin09-27-1903Shot and killed after arresting a man who brutally beat a woman in the street45N/A
DetectiveSamuel H. Hamilton05-12-1907Shot and killed during a domestic dispute over child custodyN/AN/A
Police OfficerWillis A. Smith03-10-1908Shot and killed after stopping a suspect for questioning in the streetN/AN/A
Police OfficerJohn W. Little11-07-1908Shot and killed while he and another Officer raided an illegal liquor denN/AN/A
Police OfficerGeorge Clinton Eubank11-23-1909Shot and killed after a business owner supposedly mistook him for a robber36In the business district of Birmingham, Alabama; exact location N/A
Police OfficerLoner Denson Camp06-19-1910Shot and killed while attempting to arrest an illegal gambler25N/A
PatrolmanW.C. Wallace11-08-1910Shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for carrying a concealed weapon23On 13th Street in Birmingham, Alabama
City MarshalWilliam Benjamin Morgan09-29-1913Shot and killed by a man he kicked out of a saloon earlier that day41N/A
DetectiveHugh Tully10-13-1913Shot and killed as he and two other Officers attempted to arrest a suspect for a stabbing 7 months earlierN/AN/A
OfficerJohn Aquilla Moore12-05-1913Shot and killed while he and his partner entered a house to investigate illegal activities27N/A
OfficerGeorge A. Sims01-22-1918Shot and killed after getting on scene to a disorderly man callN/AN/A
OfficerJohn Dickerson Newby10-15-1919Succumbed to injuries sustained on 10-10-1919 after being shot in a dark alley after hearing shotsN/AN/A
OfficerSam P. Dobyns09-19-1920Shot and killed while raiding an illegal gambling houseN/AN/A
SergeantWalter C. Hollums08-15-1923Struck and killed by a car while directing trafficN/AN/A
Police OfficerRay Payne02-12-1927Shot and killed while trying to break up a fight between 3 menN/AN/A
Police OfficerAlexander A. Manley05-26-1927Shot and killed by a man he was talking to about his illegal parkingN/AN/A
Motorcycle OfficerElsie Turner Lewis03-03-1928Shot and killed while with his partner during a traffic stop with a car that ran a red light26N/A
Motor ScoutHenry Francis Mills08-08-1930Killed in a motorcycle crashN/AOn Arkadelphia Road
Police OfficerEdward Lee Buckalew05-23-1931Killed in a car crashN/AN/A
City WardenWilliam Ira Latham10-24-1932Killed in a car crash while transporting a prisonerN/AN/A
Police OfficerDumas Froy Phillips04-23-1934Killed in a motorcycle crash after losing control while headed back from Pell City, Alabama for court40On Leeds Highway, 3 miles east of Irondale, Alabama
Police OfficerForest J. Harris02-08-1935Succumbed to injuries sustained on 02-01-1935 during a shootout with robbery suspectsN/AN/A
Police OfficerJames M. Early04-15-1935Shot and killed after a robbery suspect, that he and other Officers were attempting to arrest, barricaded himself in a garageN/AN/A
Police OfficerHomer Earnest Poore06-30-1936Struck and killed by a vehicle while on a traffic stopN/AN/A
DetectiveJames Tillman Moser01-31-1939Shot and killed with his own weapon while attempting to arrest an escaped death row inmateN/AN/A
Police OfficerEdward Newton Wolff07-12-1941Killed in a motorcycle crashN/AN/A
Police OfficerFred R. Brockman11-03-1953Shot and killed after arriving on scene to a man with a gun call52N/A
Police OfficerHerbert C. Osborn07-24-1962Killed in a motorcycle crashN/AN/A
Police OfficerAzell L. Harris05-04-1969Shot and killed while confronting 3 robbers at a local freight warehouse42N/A
Police OfficerKenneth Lee Spencer Jr.07-13-1969Shot and killed with his own weapon after trying to kick a disorderly man out of a public swimming pool26N/A
Police OfficerHenry L. Thompson10-16-1972Shot and killed with his own weapon while trying to calm a disorderly customer at a bankN/AN/A
Police OfficerFelix Underwood10-07-1973Shot and killed at a traffic crash by an emotionally disturbed person who killed a person before killing Officer UnderwoodN/AN/A
Detective SergeantWilliam Stanley Jones08-09-1975Died from a heart attack while chasing a suspectN/AN/A
Police OfficerJames Earl Rhodes03-11-1978Killed when another vehicle struck his motorcycle while he escorted a funeral32N/A
SergeantAlbert Eugene Ballard11-29-1979Shot and killed while on a traffic stop with a possible bank robberN/AIn downtown Birmingham, Alabama; exact location N/A
Police OfficerEdward K. Alley Jr.12-25-1980Shot and killed while attempting to arrest 2 convenience store robbers34N/A
Police OfficerRobert D. Patterson10-31-1982Accidentally shot and killed by a fellow OfficerN/AN/A
OfficerSharon K. Robinson04-07-1984Killed in a crash with Officer Marcus L. Reid while responding to a burglary call which was falseN/AN/A
OfficerMarcus L. Reid04-07-1984Killed in a crash with Officer Sharon K. Robinson to a burglary call which was falseN/AN/A
Police OfficerFrank H. Dunn10-14-1986Killed after hitting a tractor trailer that made a left turn in front of himN/AN/A
OfficerJohn Martin Huffman05-21-1992Killed after being struck by a driver under the influence of narcotics while on a traffic stop33On I-59; exact location N/A
OfficerRobert “Sande” Sanderson01-29-1998Killed by a bomb while working overtime at an abortion clinic34At 1001 17th Street S, Birmingham, Alabama 35205
OfficerC. Robert Bennett06-17-2004Shot and killed along with Officer Harley Alfred Chisholm, III and Officer Carlos Winston Owens while serving a warrant33Near 18th Street and Avenue P in the Ensley community of Birmingham, Alabama
OfficerHarley Alfred Chisholm, III06-17-2004Shot and killed along with Officer C. Robert Bennett and Officer Carlos Winston Owens while serving a warrant40Near 18th Street and Avenue P in the Ensley community of Birmingham, Alabama
OfficerCarlos Winston Owens06-17-2004Shot and killed along with Officer C. Robert Bennett and Officer Harley Alfred Chisholm, III while serving a warrant58Near 18th Street and Avenue P in the Ensley community of Birmingham, Alabama
SergeantWyTasha Lamar Carter01-13-2019Shot and killed as he and his partner attempted to arrest two men who were trying to break into multiple vehicles around 2:00 A.M.44900 block of 5th Avenue North near Chase Bays in Birmingham, Alabama

There has been 1 Birmingham Police Department Officer killed while off-duty.

Rank Name Date of Death Cause of Death Age Location
OfficerJoseph Jerome Daniels11-18-2002Shot and killed while attempting to stop a robbery at a fast food restaurant31On Graymont Avenue at Reno Chicken and Burgers in Birmingham, Alabama

See also

References

  1. "Birmingham, AL 2019 Budget".
  2. "Birmingham Police Department - Bhamwiki". www.bhamwiki.com. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  3. Carter, Dan T. (1995). The politics of rage : George Wallace, the origins of the new conservatism, and the transformation of American politics. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 229. ISBN 0-684-80916-8. OCLC 32739924.
  4. Delia, Sarah (13 December 2013). "Leroy Stover: Birmingham's First Black Police Officer". WBHM. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  5. "Birmingham Has First Black Police Chief". LA Times. June 21, 1992. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  6. Robinson, Carol (March 1, 2013). "Fifty years later, Birmingham police have made great strides since days of dogs, firehoses, segregation". AL.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  7. Wiley, Jerry (31 March 2021). "Traffic stops make poverty a crime, retired Birmingham police captain says". AL. com. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  8. "Command Staff | Birmingham Police Department". Birmingham Police Department | Protect | Serve | Respect. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  9. The Officer Down Memorial Page
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