Reviewed by: Cindy Hatcher
The chief reimagining community policing in Alabama’s fifth largest city
Reading time: 4 minutes
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When you’re with Tuscaloosa Police Department Deputy Chief Severn “Sebo” Sanders in his town, two things are clear: the number of people he knows and how they feel about him. When he strolls the sidewalks downtown and on The University of Alabama campus, his presence brings smiles, fist bumps, handshakes, horn honks and waves.
As a 29-year veteran of the department and the city’s head of community policing for the last five, Sanders’ mission has been to make a difference in the lives of his more than 114,000 neighbors, even if that takes one conversation at a time.
Read on to learn more about Sanders and the work he’s been doing in Tuscaloosa.
Building community trust
Sanders’ current role developed along with Tuscaloosa’s focused community policing initiative, Project Unity, which began in earnest in late summer 2020, a local response to George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and calls for police reform nationwide.
“We were looking to find a way to make sure that people who reside in or visit Tuscaloosa feel secure and have trust in law enforcement. [Now] I think this is a successful program that needs to be modeled across the country.”
TPD Deputy Chief Sanders
The Tuscaloosa Police Department has opportunities open now for the right candidates.
Thinking differently
Chief Sanders keeps local youth at the forefront of his community policing work, whether rallying support to revive outdoor basketball courts or dressing up as Santa to deliver gifts to kids and families every Christmas. (City of Tuscaloosa)
Trust and teamwork are familiar concepts to Sanders, a native of Marion, Alabama, who came to Tuscaloosa in the early 1990s to play basketball for Stillman College. He joined TPD in early 1997.
Sanders says he is proud of what his team has accomplished in community policing while always looking to do more. Early on, he sought “outside the box” ways to resonate with people, especially kids, including becoming Santa and delivering gifts to families in need along with other officers as “reindeer,” all on motorcycles.
One of Sanders’ biggest efforts is overseeing the Police Athletic League (PAL), which provides sports programming and camps to local kids. The PAL gym is currently being remodeled, and across the street, a new set of outdoor basketball courts will open this fall.
The project, which Sanders envisions as Tuscaloosa’s version of New York’s Holcombe Rucker Park, revives an old court space where some legendary players came through in the 1960s. Hearing those stories inspired Sanders to enlist other community leaders to help bring the courts back for today’s kids.
Learn more about careers with the Tuscaloosa Police Department here.
Connecting across the community
Almost daily, Sanders connects with local schools, speaking to students, meeting with at-risk kids or collaborating with staff.
STARS Academy Principal Donmonique Morgan says the district’s relationship with Sanders and resource officers is the envy of other areas. Tuscaloosa City Schools Superintendent Mike Daria introduced himself to us on the street as “No. 1 fan of Chief.”
Sanders also meets with local ministers to hear community needs and issues people may not be comfortable sharing with him directly. At the same time, his phone does ring at all hours, which he says he much prefers over having a situation escalate.
Championing family values
Tuscaloosa City Schools Superintendent Mike Daria, Tuscaloosa Temporary Emergency Services Executive Director Dr. Karen Jackson-Grant, Sanders and entrepreneur and District 5 School Board Member Erica Grant (Madison MacMullen / The Bama Buzz)
Beyond work, Sanders is committed to serving his church, several community organizations and his family as a husband, dad and grandfather.
He says he’s always loved “The Andy Griffith Show” and believes even towns of Tuscaloosa’s size can take some cues from Mayberry.
“Being from a small town, I have family values, and I think that’s what I apply to my community policing. That’s something we need to establish all across the country, bringing back community involvement and family values, and I think we do that here. We have trust in law enforcement and trust within the community itself.”
TPD Deputy Chief Sebo Sanders
See yourself in these values and mission? You can see current jobs with TPD here.
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