After nearly 30 years on duty, Vicksburg police officer Clay Griffin is reluctantly preparing to retire.

Griffin was honored this week with a retirement luncheon by the department where he’s been a jack-of-all-trades since 1987. His official last day on the job is April 30.

“It’s the best time to do it right now. I wanted to do 30 years, but health got to me,” Griffin said.

Several years ago, the longtime patrolman and transport officer was diagnosed with lymphoma. He’s been cancer-free for four years, but his hearing is failing and he recently had heart surgery on top of being diagnosed with arthritis.

Griffin certainly doesn’t want to give up the career he’s loved.

“When I got close to 25 years, I thought I would leave and start another career. That passed and I thought I would say for 30 years,” he said. “I don’t want to go. Trust me. I want to do 30 years.”

Griffin began as a patrolman but he’s worked in inmate transport, serving warrants and as the front-desk officer.

“He’s certainly done an incredible job,” said Police Chief Walter Armstrong.

Armstrong met Griffin years ago when he was working as a state trooper in Claiborne County and Griffin was transporting inmates for VPD.

“We would go so many places,” Griffin said. “We would start in Port Gibson, then go down to Jefferson County. Sometimes we would have to go to Copiah County, Madison County, Yazoo City and Rolling Fork,” Griffin said.

After his cancer diagnosis, Griffin left working on the streets for a more behind the scenes job managing the department’s evidence room.

“When I got here, they said learn everything you can learn,” he said.

His fondest memory of working with VPD is when he and officer James Whittington saved the life of a disabled child who had stopped breathing. Both officers performed CPR on the child.

“She lived six more years,” Griffin said. “It breaks my heart that she died later, but helping save here, that was one of the best experiences I had.”

In his most recent assignment, Griffin helped VPD get national accreditation by overhauling the evidence room. The large, locked room contains two refrigerators, boxes upon boxes of evidence in all types of criminal cases, photographs and videos. In a separate vault, the police keep guns, cash and drugs seized during arrests. Griffin was responsible for sorting through the room and disposing of evidence that is no longer needed. Some evidence can be gotten rid of after a court date, while murder cases require that evidence be stored for 75 years.

“You can’t eat off the floor, but it’s pretty clean back there,” he said.

This week, Armstrong presented Griffin with a fishing pole, which the retiring officer said he plans to put to good use when he’s not holding down a less strenuous part-time job.

“I do a lot of hunting and finishing, and I work part time at Super Junior as a butcher,” he said.