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Mayor Randall Woodfin announced key leadership changes at the Birmingham Police Department Thursday morning, including the chief of police, during a news conference.>> YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: Community coverage from �������� 13Police Chief Scott Thurmond announced that he is retiring. He started his career in 1998."The time is right," Thurmond said. "There's many positive things going on in the city right now."Thurmond and Woodfin hugged after the announcement.Woodfin commended Thurmond on all of his hard work for public service, including retention of officers and solving homicides.Thurmond said he turned 50 this year, and it's been months of thinking, but he had to do what's best for him and his family. He noted that community comments and city leadership had nothing to do with this decision."It just happened to be bad timing, unfortunately," Thurmond said.Thurmond is going to work with the department during his transition through Nov. 29.Watch the full news conference below.The interim police chief will be Deputy Chief Michael Pickett. He is the chief of the Special Operations Bureau who joined BPD in 2004. Pickett worked on Operation Night Rider. He has also been in charge of the safety of major events, like the World Games."My number one goal is to make the citizens of Birmingham feel safer and to make the criminals uncomfortable and fearful in the city," Pickett said.When asked about the timeframe of a permanent chief, Woodfin responded with his full confidence in the interim chief for the time being.Captain Evan Hanks is also being appointed to interim assistant chief of the Birmingham Police Department. He began with the department in 1992.This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Stay updated on the latest stories with the �������� 13 app. You can download it here.