Oral history with Mr. Tommy Moffett

              Oral history with Mr. Tommy Moffett
F341.5 . M57 vol. 747, pt. 1
Funding for this project provided by The Mississippi State Legislature, The Mississippi Humanities Council, The Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi.
This transcription of an oral history by the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage of The University of Southern Mississippi may not be reproduced or published in any form except that quotation of short excerpts of unrestricted transcripts and the associated tape recordings is permissible providing written consent is obtained from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. When literary rights have been retained by the interviewee, written permission to use the material must be obtained from both the interviewee and the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Please call ( 601) 266- 4574 for more information.
Biography
Biloxi Police Director Tommy Moffett was born March 2, 1950, in Taylorsville, Mississippi. He grew up in a household of ten siblings, and they all helped in sharecropping until Mr. Moffett was fifteen years old which was the year that his mother died. His childhood was marked by scarcity and hardscrabble, and he had to work to survive. Nonetheless, Mr. Moffett was determined to finish high school, and he did so.
After graduating from high school, Mr. Moffett worked at Keesler Air Force Base for four years, and then joined the police department. He attended and was graduated from the FBI Academy. Currently he is the director of the Biloxi Police Department.
Table of Contents
I. Childhood
II. Important lessons at an early age
III. Helpful mentors
IV. FBI Academy
V. Effective law enforcement
VI. The Klan and Jim Crow in Smith County
VII. Sovereignty Commission
VIII. Respect for parents in segregated South
IX. Becoming a police officer
X. LATN
XI. Psychological testing
XII. Accountability
XIII. Henry Beck Park
XIV. Increasing police presence
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