Bay Minette will soon have a new top law enforcement officer after the City Council voted unanimously this week to confirm Al W. Tolbert Jr. as the city’s next police chief. Tolbert is set to officially take command of the Bay Minette Police Department on Nov. 20, stepping into the role vacated by outgoing Chief Clarence Crook’s retirement.
The council’s vote capped a lengthy selection process led by Mayor Robert A. Wills, who assembled a committee of residents and law enforcement personnel to evaluate candidates for the post. According to a spokeswoman for the city, the appointment came only after that committee worked through an extended application and vetting process to identify the department’s next leader.
Tolbert is not new to the department he will now lead. He joined the Bay Minette Police Department in 2000 as a patrol officer, spending three years walking a beat before earning a promotion to K-9 handler and the rank of sergeant. He went on to serve as a patrol supervisor, a post he held until 2007, giving him more than two decades of institutional knowledge of the department and the community it serves.
Beyond his police work, Tolbert has also been active in the broader public safety community as a member of the Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Department, rounding out a record of service that touches multiple corners of local emergency response.
City officials say Tolbert’s rise through the ranks, from a rookie patrol officer to K-9 handler and supervisor before earning the chief’s badge, reflects the kind of homegrown leadership the selection committee was looking for. Tolbert said he is excited about the opportunity to lead the department where he has spent his entire law enforcement career.
Chief Crook’s retirement closes out a tenure at the head of the Bay Minette Police Department, and the incoming administration will be watched closely by residents of the Baldwin County city as Tolbert settles into the role this fall. The transition is expected to be a smooth one given Tolbert’s decades of service within the same department, and city leaders say they expect continuity in the department’s community policing priorities as the new chief takes over daily operations.
Bay Minette, the Baldwin County seat, has seen steady growth in recent years, putting added emphasis on the police department’s staffing and leadership as the city expands. Tolbert’s confirmation gives the department a chief with deep local ties heading into that period of growth.