Captain Ryan Kearney, a 23-year veteran of the Birmingham Police Department, is the city's new police chief after the City Commission formally appointed him at its Monday, Aug. 10 meeting.
Kearney takes command during one of the busiest stretches on the department's calendar. His first full week includes a boosted downtown patrol presence announced Thursday, Aug. 13, in response to a multi-group brawl near Bates Street and Willits the previous weekend, and the Woodward Dream Cruise rolling through Birmingham on Saturday, Aug. 15.
He starts immediately.
Kearney succeeds Chief Scott Grewe, who retired in July after 27 years with the department. As we reported Aug. 11, the city swore in its new chief at the commission meeting while the brawl investigation was still unfolding.
Two decades on the force
Kearney joined the Birmingham Police Department in 2003 as a patrol officer. He rose to lieutenant, then captain of the Operations Division, where he supervised patrol, managed the city's special events and served as the department's liaison to the Multi-Modal Transportation Board, according to the department's 2025 annual report.
He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Western Michigan University and completed Eastern Michigan University's School of Police Staff and Command in 2021, finishing second in a class of 44. His thesis on recruiting future officers through a police cadet program won the program's top paper award, according to a city manager report from October 2021.
In July 2022, then-Lt. Kearney stepped in as acting commander while Grewe attended the FBI National Academy out of state.
Inheriting a busy moment
The department announced Thursday, Aug. 13, it is increasing downtown patrols following what it called a rise in crowd-related incidents. The Birmingham Fire Department will also conduct random occupancy inspections to ensure businesses comply with capacity limits.
Suela Maklaj, general manager of Bell Bistro on Old Woodward Avenue, told WXYZ she witnessed the aftermath of the brawl and welcomed the added presence. "We need to have more security, more cops. So hopefully, this will change soon," she said Aug. 13.
The brawl is the third high-profile public safety episode in Birmingham in recent months, following a shooting at a short-term rental on East Lincoln Street and a pool party that drew widespread attention on social media. Commissioner Brad Host told FOX 2 Detroit on Aug. 10 that commissioners should personally walk downtown between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. on weekend nights to assess conditions, calling it a "field trip."
The department has 36 sworn officers, according to its 2025 annual report, and made 229 adult in-custody arrests in 2025, up from 204 the year before. A downtown camera system replacement was roughly 50 percent complete by the end of 2025, with expanded coverage planned for the Maple and Adams intersection and Shain Park.
Kearney's first major operational test comes Saturday, Aug. 15, when Birmingham's Downtown Cruise Fest takes over South Old Woodward from Maple to Lincoln, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as part of the 31st annual Dream Cruise weekend.
