BRITTANY. YOU KNOW, MICHAEL PICKETT COMES INTO THIS POSITION WITH 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH BIRMINGHAM POLICE AND MAYOR RANDALL WOODFIN TELLING US TODAY WHEN HE WAS CONSIDERING HIM FOR THIS POSITION, HE ASKED HIM THREE QUESTIONS. ARE YOU COMMITTED? CAN I TRUST YOU? AND DO YOU CARE? WELL, WE LEARNED TODAY FROM WOODFIN THAT PICKETT CARES, AND HE鈥橲 NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TRUST PICKETT. THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE SAYS THEY CAN TO. AFTER FOUR MONTHS AS INTERIM POLICE CHIEF MICHAEL PICKETT IS OFFICIALLY IN CHARGE OF THE BIRMINGHAM POLICE DEPARTMENT. TODAY I AM PROUD TO APPOINT MICHAEL PICKETT AS THE NEW CHIEF OF POLICE. MAYOR RANDALL WOODFIN SAYS PICKETT GETTING OUT OF THE OFFICE, HELPED FINALIZE TODAY鈥橲 APPOINTMENT. HE鈥橲 MEETING WITH RESIDENTS WHO HAVE HAD THEIR RESIDENCE OR THEIR HOME SHOT INTO. HE鈥橲 ACTUALLY GONE OUT INTO THE FIELD HIMSELF AND TRACK DOWN THE KILLER, AND THEN HE CALLED FOR BACKUP. THE MAYOR TELLS US MORALE IS UP WITH OFFICERS. I ASKED PICKETT HOW HE GOT THEM TO BELIEVE IN HIM. LET THEM KNOW. HEY, WE HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE. YOU鈥橰E GOING TO BE SUPPORTED. I鈥橫 GOING TO GET YOU THE TOOLS THAT YOU NEED AND ALLOW YOU TO JUST BE ABLE TO POLICE IN THE BEST MANNER POSSIBLE. OF COURSE, OUR OFFICERS KNOW THEY鈥橪L BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE PRESIDENT DEANGELO HALL IS HAPPY TO HAVE PICKETT AT THE HELM. WHAT WAS IT THAT. CHIEF PICKETT DID IN HIS INTERIM PHASE THAT GOT PEOPLE TO CHANGE THEIR MINDSETS, CHALLENGED? HE CHALLENGED EVERYBODY. IF YOU CAN鈥橳 MEET THAT CHALLENGE, HE WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT PERSON TO MEET THAT CHALLENGE IS A CHALLENGE. THAT鈥橲 AN IN-HOUSE THING THAT鈥橲 IN-HOUSE. THAT CHALLENGE, HALL BELIEVES, HELPED OFFICERS THOROUGHLY DO THEIR JOBS TO SOLVE CRIME. AS LONG AS THEY鈥橰E WORKING, MOTIVATION IS UP. BUT WHEN YOU START QUESTIONING EVERY SINGLE ACTION THAT THEY鈥橰E DOING AND IT鈥橲 NOT WRONG, THAT鈥橲 WHEN IT BECOMES AN ISSUE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE MORALE. CITY LEADERS SAY HOMICIDE IS DOWN 47%, THE LOWEST IT鈥橲 BEEN IN EIGHT YEARS. PICKETT SAYS THE MOMENTUM MUST CONTINUE AS SUMMER APPROACHES. SO WE HAVE SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE IN PLACE SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS A SAFE SUMMER AS POSSIBLE. AND THE FOP TOLD ME TODAY IT WANTS TO SEE TRANSPARENCY FROM THIS ADMINISTRATION AND NO SURPRISES. MEANWHILE, PICKETT TELLS US TODAY THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF鈥橲 OFFICE MET TO TALK ABOUT THE STOLEN VEHICLE TASK FORCE. THIS IS A PART OF A PLAN THAT THEY鈥橰E CREATING NOW. WELL, THIS IS INCLUDED IN THE EIGHT POINT CRIME REDUCTION PLAN. WE TOLD YOU ABOUT IT ABOUT A MONTH AGO. WELL, WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT CRIME PLAN ON OUR WEBSITE AT 米兰体育 13.COM, AND YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT IT THERE. WE鈥橰E LIV
Birmingham's new Police Chief Michael Pickett develops trust among officers, city leaders during interim phase
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Updated: 5:14 PM CDT Apr 1, 2025
The city of Birmingham officially has a new police chief. The announcement made on Tuesday in a press conference.Michael Pickett comes into this new role with more than 20 years of experience with the Birmingham Police Department. Mayor Randall Woodfin said that when considering Pickett, he asked three questions: can he trust him, is he committed, and does he care?Woodfin said Pickett does care, and Woodfin isn't the only one who says they trust Pickett; so do members of the Fraternal Order of Police.After four months as interim police chief, Michael Pickett is officially in charge of the Birmingham Police Department. Woodfin says Pickett getting out of the office helped finalize the appointment.鈥淗e's meeting with residents who have had their homes shot into. He's gone out into the field himself and tracked down a killer and then called for backup,鈥� Woodfin said.The mayor tells us morale is up with officers. I asked Pickett how he got them to believe in him.Pickett says, " let them know, 鈥楬ey, we have a plan in place. You got to be supportive. I'm going to get you the tools that you need, and allow you to just be able to police in the best manner possible.鈥� Of course, our officers know they'll be held accountable.鈥滷raternal Order of Police president DeAngelo Hall is happy to have Pickett at the helm.米兰体育 13 questioned Hall, 鈥淲hat was it that Chief Pickett did in his interim phase to get people to change their mindsets?" Hall replied, 鈥淐hallenged. He challenged everybody. If you can't meet that challenge, he will move to the next person to meet that challenge.鈥� Magdala asked, 鈥淲hat's the challenge?" Hall said, 'That's an in-house thing.鈥漈hat challenge, Hall believes, helped officers thoroughly do their jobs to solve crime."As long as their working motivation is up, but when you start questioning every single action that they're doing and it's not wrong, that's when that becomes an issue; especially with the morale,鈥� Hall said.City leaders say homicide is down 47 percent, the lowest it鈥檚 been in eight years. Pickett says the momentum must continue as summer approaches. 鈥淪o, we have several things that are in place that we can make sure that everyone has as safe a summer as possible,鈥� Pickett said.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The city of Birmingham officially has a new police chief. The announcement made on Tuesday in a press conference.
Michael Pickett comes into this new role with more than 20 years of experience with the Birmingham Police Department.
Mayor Randall Woodfin said that when considering Pickett, he asked three questions: can he trust him, is he committed, and does he care?
Woodfin said Pickett does care, and Woodfin isn't the only one who says they trust Pickett; so do members of the Fraternal Order of Police.
After four months as interim police chief, Michael Pickett is officially in charge of the Birmingham Police Department.
Woodfin says Pickett getting out of the office helped finalize the appointment.
鈥淗e's meeting with residents who have had their homes shot into. He's gone out into the field himself and tracked down a killer and then called for backup,鈥� Woodfin said.
The mayor tells us morale is up with officers. I asked Pickett how he got them to believe in him.
Pickett says, "[I] let them know, 鈥楬ey, we have a plan in place. You got to be supportive. I'm going to get you the tools that you need, and allow you to just be able to police in the best manner possible.鈥� Of course, our officers know they'll be held accountable.鈥�
Fraternal Order of Police president DeAngelo Hall is happy to have Pickett at the helm.
米兰体育 13 questioned Hall, 鈥淲hat was it that Chief Pickett did in his interim phase to get people to change their mindsets?" Hall replied, 鈥淐hallenged. He challenged everybody. If you can't meet that challenge, he will move to the next person to meet that challenge.鈥� Magdala asked, 鈥淲hat's the challenge?" Hall said, 'That's an in-house thing.鈥�
That challenge, Hall believes, helped officers thoroughly do their jobs to solve crime.
"As long as their working motivation is up, but when you start questioning every single action that they're doing and it's not wrong, that's when that becomes an issue; especially with the morale,鈥� Hall said.
City leaders say homicide is down 47 percent, the lowest it鈥檚 been in eight years.
Pickett says the momentum must continue as summer approaches.
鈥淪o, we have several things that are in place that we can make sure that everyone has as safe a summer as possible,鈥� Pickett said.
