Birmingham police will no longer use no-knock warrants such as the one that led to the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville last year. Mayor Randall L. Woodfin, Police Chief Patrick Smith and Thomas Beavers, senior pastor of The Star Church, announced that and several other revisions to police policies and procedures during an event Tuesday. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — A bill that would change the definition of riot in state law and increase penalties for those who participate in one has been pre-filed for the 2022 regular legislative session. Read more.
Scroll in and click on each location to read more about the person who was killed. A red ‘X’ indicates a homicide. A blue ‘X’ indicates an officer-involved shooting where a civilian was shot. The city of Birmingham has recorded 63 homicides so far in 2021, according to data from the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. Last year, Birmingham hit a record for the highest number of homicides in 25 years. The city’s police chief, Patrick Smith, told WBHM that even with that record high, the city fared well in comparison to other areas across the country. “It could have been a whole lot worse,” Smith said. “Certainly, we don’t want to see the loss of life anywhere at all. And I wish that we could do more. But we’re trying to work within the confines of what we have as a department.” Read more.
Birmingham has been riddled with crime for decades, and people are concerned about the increasing number of homicides. In 2020, violent crimes such as rape and robberies decreased, but gun-related violent crimes increased almost 20%. Last year ended with a total of 122 homicides, the most in the last 25 years. So far in 2021, there have been at least 60 homicides in the city of Birmingham, according to data from the Jefferson County Coroner's Office. Read more.
Trauma doctors in Birmingham are treating a record number of patients with gunshot wounds. Health officials hope a violence intervention program could help reverse the trend. Read more.
The spike in Birmingham’s gun violence has many residents concerned and outraged. Local activists have said reducing shootings has to be a community effort, with local government support. Read more.
Several Alabama community colleges have not met all the requirements of a long-standing federal act on campus safety reporting, but officials say they will be compliant by the Oct. 1 reporting deadline. Read more.
Despite several recent shootings, Ensley’s Club Euphoria is staying open — for now. The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to give the venue 13 weeks to institute a safety plan and address neighborhood concerns, after which the council would decide whether to shutter the venue. Read more.
Birmingham finished 2020 with its highest number of homicides in 25 years. So far this year, the homicide rate shows no sign of slowing down. That’s putting increased pressure on city leaders to curb the violence. And a lot of that pressure falls on Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith. “There are times to where it’s going to be incredibly difficult,” Smith said. “This is one of those times.” Smith, who’s originally from Tuscaloosa, has led the Birmingham police force and its 900-plus officers since 2018. Before, he spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Police Department. According to Smith, deadly violence typically increases during the summer months. So, officers have been focusing on areas of the city where the data indicate crime is more likely to occur. “One of the things we have to do is to stay on top of things, make sure we’re doing positive patrols in certain areas,” Smith said. Smith discussed his approach with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager. Read more.
Five children have been killed or injured by gun violence in Birmingham this year, and city leaders are pleading for witnesses to come forward. “Our detectives are doing everything they can,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a Tuesday morning press conference. “This is a community issue and it needs to be a community effort, and I don’t think we can leave it to the five detectives for these five cases.” Read more.
