According to multiple sources, Birmingham Police officers have been cautioned by department leadership not to talk publicly about the frightening state of the police force and its implications for the city. The orders, they say, have come straight from Mayor Randall Woodfin himself.
Woodfin, who is balancing addressing the city's record-breaking year of homicides and low police force numbers with a book tour to promote his memoir and a reelection campaign, has sought to deflect criticism that the problems are a result of his failed leadership.
Woodfin would like voters to believe he is not responsible for the problems facing the police department while also taking credit for its advancements. During his campaign kickoff this past weekend, he touted the reduction in some major crime types as an example of his leadership while saying, "I've got a secret to tell y'all. I've got a confession. I'm not Batman. Fighting crime takes more than one person."
An ABC 33/40 report included an interview with one officer concerned the public wasn't getting the truth. That officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, had a dire warning.
"Read between the lines; it's definitely not safe in Birmingham."
According to reports, some nights, only a handful of officers cover an entire precinct. "If you only have five people at work at night, that side of town, where is your closest backup coming from? It may take 10-15 minutes to get to you," the officer said on the video. "I've been in situations by myself where I have to fight whole families."
The report included video footage of Woodfin laughing at reports that he is not being honest about data related to the police force and crime. State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham), a mayoral candidate, doesn't think it's a laughing matter. She said she doesn't buy the mayor's claim that things are improving either.
"Randall is lying. He's lying to the citizens of Birmingham. He's outright lying," she told 1819 News in an interview.
That's why she's sponsoring legislation that would require city municipalities to report staffing and crime reports to the state.
She says the bill stemmed from an emergency meeting Sheriff Mark L. Pettway convened to address the shortage of law enforcement officers and how that would impact the area in the event of a major incident or natural disaster. At that meeting, she said former Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond refused to give an exact head count of the officers serving the City of Birmingham.
She knew things were bad and reported calling Woodfin regularly for years to discuss it. By 2024, however, she said her calls to him stopped because he wasn't listening and wasn't taking the problem seriously. She didn't see the point.
Givan agrees with the officers who spoke to ABC 33/40, saying, "This is a timebomb."
Apryl Marie Fogel is a Birmingham resident who frequently appears on and guest hosts radio programs around the state. She can be reached at aprylmarie.fogel@1819news.com or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
