Michael Norwood is an American former basketball player who is currently a lieutenant with the
Buffalo Police Department.
Norwood is one-half of the musical duo The Singing Cops with fellow officer Armonde "Moe" Badger, and they were contestants together on ''
The Amazing Race 33''.
History
Playing career
Michael Norwood Jr. was born in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, playing basketball for
Seneca Vocational High School and receiving All-Western New York honors following his senior season in 2003.
He played for two seasons at
Erie Community College under
Alexander Nwora from 2003 to 2005.
After transferring to
Coppin State University in 2005, he played two seasons under
Fang Mitchell before going undrafted in the
2007 NBA draft.
Norwood played professionally for the
Buffalo Stampede
The Buffalo Stampede were a basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The team competed in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) for two seasons in 2009 and 2010, and in the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL) for the 2010†...
for both of their seasons in the
Premier Basketball League from 2009 to 2010.
After being signed by the
Äänekosken Huima in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, Norwood injured his foot in training and was released by the club in September 2010 prior to their season opener.
His father, Michael Norwood Sr. had been a star with the team in the 1970s.
He was selected in the third round of the
2012 NBL Canada draft by the
Summerside Storm, but instead chose to retire in favor of a law enforcement career.
Law enforcement career and fame
Norwood was hired as a
police officer
A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
by the
Buffalo Police Department in January 2013.
A clip of Norwood and his partner Armonde "Moe" Badger singing "
Thinking Out Loud" inside a restaurant went viral in March 2019, leading to the pair making national appearances as The Singing Cops.
They appeared together on an April 2019 episode of ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'', with the host donating $10,000 to their C.O.P.S.S. (Children Overcoming Police Stereotypes Through Sports) foundation.
The Singing Cops released a song titled "Different" in July 2009.
Norwood was placed on
administrative leave in August 2019 following an incident where his patrol car collided with a motorcycle.
He began competing as a
professional bodybuilder for the
International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation in July 2021.
Badger and Norwood appeared as contestants together on ''
The Amazing Race 33'' in January 2022, and were the first team eliminated.
Norwood was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
by the
Buffalo Police Department in November 2022.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwood, Michael
1985 births
American male bodybuilders
American men's basketball players
American municipal police officers
Basketball players from Buffalo, New York
Coppin State Eagles men's basketball players
Island Storm players
Law enforcement officials from New York (state)
Living people
Musicians from Buffalo, New York
Participants in American reality television series
American professional bodybuilders
SUNY Erie alumni