By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times
When it comes to chasing down bad guys and making arrests, Michael Pickett, named Birmingham Chief of Police on Tuesday, knows what it takes. Literally.
Earlier this year, Pickett then interim chief was returning from a family outing when a man was shot and killed on an Interstate 59 South off ramp. Birmingham Police Department’s Real Crime Center Specialists were quickly able to identify a suspect, and the vehicle involved in the homicide. In less than two hours Pickett tracked down the suspect and vehicle — and then called for backup.
“I got the call somebody was shot and killed on the interstate,” Pickett told the Birmingham Times on Tuesday. “I’m seeing the alerts. Drop the family off. We have technology to where we can get information on where the suspect might be … and I said ‘let me go check this area. If he’s in the vicinity I want to see if I can lay my eyes on him’ and sure enough, I spotted that vehicle.”
Pickett, who has a background in surveillance and fugitive apprehension, said he noticed damage on what he believed to be the suspect’s vehicle and called in the Crime Reduction Team and the Special Enforcement team who made it to his location and apprehended the suspect.
That was just one in a number of successes Pickett has notched since becoming chief of the state’s largest police force. The 40-year-old graduate of Birmingham’s Ramsay High School and Miles College took over as the interim chief in December following the retirement of Chief Scott Thurmond. Under Pickett’s leadership, the city has seen an almost 50 percent decrease in homicides in the first quarter of 2025, and a homicide clearance rate well above the national average.
‘War-Game Plans’
The clearance rate is an important part of crime reduction, said Pickett.
“When criminals go unchecked they get more bold,” said the chief. “When they see you are arresting some of their friends and people who choose to be in that lifestyle” it can be a deterrent.
It was Pickett who in late 2023, put the brakes on exhibition driving and illegal street racing that had been spinning out of control in the city. He told The Birmingham Times that his approach to crime reduction is not that complicated.
“I love to do research, I love to study behavior and understand everything you can about any issue,” he said. “You have to understand what causes the issue, understand what amplifies the issue and then you have to understand the different ways that you can stop it.”
From there, Pickett said he looks at the trends, what drives the issue and what options will be most effective.
“I get with my team, and not just my executive leadership team. I talk to officers, detectives, and I say, ‘let’s all talk about this, what ways would you try to get away with this crime … once we ‘war game’ that, we come up with a primary plan, a contingent plan and then another plan just to see which one works the best and then we keep dialing in and perfecting it and perfecting it until we get a solid product.”
‘Fearless Leadership’
Another key for the chief is that he knows the city. He’s a graduate of both Ramsay High School and Miles College. His first assignment with the Birmingham Police Department was as a patrol officer in the West Precinct and he was promoted to investigations, and Dignitary Protection, and eventually to sergeant and lieutenant.
He served as the city’s Law Enforcement Branch Director for the 2022 World Games and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in criminal justice, with a concentration in Homeland Security and Advanced Counterterrorism.
Knowing the city and residents is paramount, Pickett told The Birmingham Times.
“You really have to understand the people, understand how they move, understand how they tick, understand their insecurities, understand the history of the city,” he said. “I’m from here and my parents are from here. I understand the things that my parents experienced. They were alive during the time when the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed [killing four girls] … I understand the older people in the community, and I understand folks around my age and I do like to interact with the younger people.”
Pickett said he is aware Alabama is a football state and he played baseball in high school, “but I love basketball,” he said. “I was born in the ’80s and raised in the ’90s watching the Bulls and watching Michael Jordan and that team … I’m a fan of the Golden State Warriors. I’m a huge fan of [Warriors guard] Steph Curry. He’s the best shooter in the game — ever.”
In announcing Pickett’s appointment on Tuesday, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said his administration takes pride giving “hard working employees a chance to rise, as well as serve. Michael Pickett has proven that,” Woodfin said, “Leadership matters … Chief Pickett leads from the front not from behind a desk.”
The mayor added, “When I say we’re cleaning up the city. He’s literally doing that. He’s out in the field, he’s literally out arresting folks for illegal dumping. He’s meeting with residents who’ve had their homes shot into … tracked down a killer and then he called for backup. This is what we define as ‘fearless leadership’ from a man who has a true heart for the City of Birmingham … under his watch what we can say is Birmingham is already more safer and we are more secure.”
