Capt. Paul Irwin Jr. was officially sworn-in as the new Pell City police chief on Friday evening, introducing a mission statement to reflect the community’s mores. 

The turnout was even larger than expected at the Pell City Municipal Complex, according to coordinators. More than 50 people attended the event, including a mix of city officials and citizens, as well as former colleagues of Irwin from the Birmingham Police Department.

After an invocation from Brother Paul Brasher and the Pledge of Allegiance, remarks were given by Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt. City Manager Brian Muenger introduced the speakers. 

“This was probably the single most important decision that we were going to make in this administration,” Pruitt said. “We were faced with the task of finding the right guy to lead all of the men and women that protect our city and our citizens, and that put their lives at risk for us everyday.”

“Chief, I want you to know that there are a whole lot of prayers that went into your being here tonight,” Pruitt stated, “and I want to thank everybody that prayed us through this process. It’s been a long one and it was not an easy decision for the Council. I know it is something that they entered into very, very carefully.” 

“I’m just thankful…(and) so excited for him to join the Pell City family. I know he’s going to be a blessing to the community…(and) a great leader for our department,” Pruitt added. “I think it says a lot when you have as many colleagues as he has drive from Birmingham and other parts to join us tonight. Chief, I just want you to know how honored and proud we are you chose to join us.”   

Next, Irwin was sworn-in by St. Clair County Circuit Judge Philip Seay. Irwin’s wife of more than 20 years, Beth, stood next to her husband and held the Bible used during the ceremony.  

During Irwin’s speech after the oath, he began by thanking Jesus Christ, his wife and their four children, his mother, the mayor and city council, the people of Pell City who “have been so welcoming,” as well as the United States Marine Corps, respectively.

“I also owe a lot of gratitude to the Birmingham Police Department,” Irwin said. “They will always be my family. A lot of them are here to support me today and I appreciate that. They made me who I am. I spent 23 years (at the department), so that will always be a home to me. But now I’m entering the second half of my career. The Pell City Police Department is now my home.”

“As I told the men and women of the (Pell City Police) Department,” Irwin said, “we are a team and I will lead from within, because our organization is not about me or an ‘I,’ but our family…I look forward to doing everything I can to lead our organization forward. You will have a police chief who will put your interests first, will be trustworthy, reliable and will face any situation with courage and pride as any officer should be. I speak these words today, but I want my actions to speak for themselves. And I pray that my actions to come over the next years will demonstrate the person that I want to be.”

Another highlight of the evening was the introduction of a new mission statement for the department by Irwin during his speech.  

“The Pell City Police Department is to be a community and service-focused organization with a daily moral obligation to protect our department, persons, property and the gateway to Logan Martin, Pell City, Alabama,” Irwin read. “We will seek and continuously develop officers who will be leaders, role models and servants to the community they serve. We will seek to develop a highly-trained and prepared professional organization with the ethics, integrity and dedication to enforce and follow the laws and ordinances as strictly defined by the courts as intended by the framers of the Constitution of the United States of America.”

 “To break that down,” Irwin said, “the protection of our community is our honor and a pride in our department, along with the integrity of the officers, the ethical duty that we have to the community and enforcing the ordinances for the persons of this community, the businesses, and the people that come here each day to visit this beautiful city.”

“I think we need to be role models to our youth, and role models to others who aren’t youth that may need direction in life,” Irwin said. “And when training and retraining our police department and everyone in our organization, I think it is very important that we train above the standards required by the state of Alabama, to develop in all different areas. It’s something that we all need everyday.”

“Thank you all and God bless America—and God bless Pell City,” finished Irwin, to be met with a round of amens and standing ovation. 

“We were just fortunate to find somebody with his experience and his knowledge,” commented Pell City City Council President James McGowan after the event. “This is a very important position, so I’m proud that we were able to get somebody like him. I think he’ll do a good job, I really do. I see us going to the next level.”

The Pell City Police Department is located at 1905 1st Ave. North, 35125. For nonemergency inquiries, call (205) 884-3334 extensions 127 and 128.