CHIEF THOMAS BOULWARE
Chief Thomas Boulware was formally named as the 8th Chief of Police on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Immediately preceding his appointment to Chief of Police, Chief Boulware served the department as the commander of the Criminal Investigations Division for the last three years.
Chief Boulware began his career in law enforcement with the Mountain Brook Police Department in 2003 when he graduated from the Alabama Advanced Criminal Justice Academy at the Montgomery Police Department. He is a certified Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission Tactical Operator having attended basic, advanced and specialized schools for Tactical Operations. Chief Boulware has attended SLEDS, is a recipient of the FBI LEEDA Trilogy Award, and has completed over 40 hours of training toward becoming a Certified Law Enforcement Executive Officer through CLEEP. In addition to a Bachelor of Science Degree in Justice Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Chief Boulware is a Certified CVSA Advanced Examiner and a Certified Internal Affairs Investigator.
Chief Boulware has served as a supervisor in all three divisions of the department to include Patrol Sergeant, Training and Hiring Sergeant, Tactical Team Leader and Sergeant Detective. After his promotion to Lieutenant in March of 2020, Chief Boulware served as the commander of the Administrative Division and oversaw several special projects to include the consolidation of dispatch services with Shelby County 911, the purchase and implementation of new reporting software, and numerous facility upgrades.
Prior to joining the police department, Chief Boulware served in the United States Marine Corps and rose to the rank of Sergeant. Chief Boulware made multiple deployments with 1st Battalion 8th Marines and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) as a squad leader, and he is the recipient of numerous personal and unit awards.