Former Police Chief Tommy Moffett doesn’t follow the news coming out of City Hall or the police department anymore, and he doesn’t watch the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings on TV23. 

Six months after being replaced as chief during a tense nomination process that consumed Mayor Paul Winfield’s first month in office, Moffett said he’s moving on — and so are former fire chief Keith Rogers and deputy chiefs Rose Shaifer and Mark Ettinger.

“I don’t want to pretend that’s easy, because it’s not. It’s been very difficult,” said Moffett, who came to Vicksburg from Biloxi in 2001. “I still like the city and I still like the department, but I’ve had to try to get it out of my system.”

Moffett said he’s not been actively looking for another job in law enforcement, but he hasn’t ruled it out either. When replaced by Police Chief Walter Armstrong by a 2-1 vote on July 10, Moffett retired with 36 total years experience as an officer, 24 of them as a chief. He had headed the Biloxi Police Department for 16 years before coming to Vicksburg.

“I haven’t really decided whether I’m going to work or not. It’s very possible. I’m just enjoying my retirement at the moment. Hunting is my job now, and fishing,” said Moffett, who took time out of recent deer hunting trip to speak about his transition out of office. “I hunt with a good group of guys. We have a lot of fun.”

Rogers, Shaifer and Ettinger were also fired on July 10 by the mayor and aldermen. All were 2-1 votes, with South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman dissenting, and came after a month of widespread rumor and speculation that arose following Winfield’s June 2 election over two-term incumbent Laurence Leyens — who declined to comment on his personal plans for the future.

Rogers has returned to retail work since being replaced by Fire Chief Charles Atkins Jr. He is now the manager of Office Max on Iowa Boulevard, where he had worked part-time before his seven-year run as chief began in March 2002. He had been with the department 25 years when he was replaced.

“It’s a change. I miss being out there with the guys,” Rogers said, adding the intensity of firefighting may be gone, but not the enjoyment of a job well done — accented with a chuckle and smile. “Here, all I have to say is, if we’re out of laptops …well, we’re just out of laptops.”

Ettinger had voluntarily retired in 2006 after 25 years with the fire department, and then returned a year later. He had been deputy chief under Rogers since 2002. Ettinger said he has resumed working with his brother, Daniel Ettinger, who operates a remodeling and painting business, since being fired, as he did when he initially retired three years ago. Like Moffett, he’s also been doing a lot of hunting — except he’s going after deer and a job.

“I’m just trying to stay busy, trying to decide and see what I want to do,” said Ettinger, a Vicksburg native. “It’s basically a bad time of year because of the economy. I’ll find something else, just not with the city.”

Lower ranking police officers and firefighters who are fired or suspended can appeal the decision to the Vicksburg Civil Service Commission, which is charged with ensuring the departments are free from political influence and have qualified personnel. Top officers — such as Moffett, Rogers, Ettinger and Shaifer — are political appointees with fixed terms. They are not allowed to be civil service members and are not afforded any protection against being removed for any reason.

Following a general election, the new board of mayor and aldermen is charged with electing a slate of officers, including police and fire chiefs, a city attorney, city clerk and municipal court judge. This year’s nomination process became heated early on, when Winfield announced plans for big changes in the city’s top spots while he was still mayor-elect. Beauman immediately said he would not support any changes in top positions, leaving North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield in the position of casting the swing vote.

Mayfield asked for a 30-day review period of Winfield’s nominations, but did not get it. The board’s first attempt at electing the slate of officers in early July ended in a standstill, with Winfield and Beauman both unable to get Mayfield’s support of their nominations. After a week of intense speculation, Mayfield finally sided with the new mayor on the appointments at a standing-room-only board meeting.

Shaifer said she’s been doing “just great” since leaving the fire department in July, and has been getting ready to enter a new career and do some travelling.

Shaifer served just under 30 years and had been deputy chief over EMS operations since 2001 when she was fired. She spent time in Houston and Dallas afterward, and is planning to visit Washington D.C. and New York City in January.

“I want to see the White House and take in a show,” she said.

Also in January, Shaifer will be the Vicksburg-area liaison for T&T Bisson, a Houston-based emergency response company that maintains an office in New Orleans. The company has a contract with the federal government to provide emergency service support along the Mississippi River in the event of an oil spill, barge fire or other disaster outside the scope of local agencies, she said. Her territory will extend from her native Vicksburg to Tunica.

“I’ve moved past that,” Shaifer said of being fired. “I had 29 good years there, and I tell everyone it was a wonderful experience.”

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Staff writers Pamela Hitchins and Danny Barrett Jr. contributed to this report.

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com