Tommy Moffett still wakes up at a quarter to 6 every morning, no matter how hard he tries to sleep late.

That might never change, but the former Vicksburg police chief no longer puts on his uniform and pins on his badge every morning after retiring July 1 from the Indianola Police Department.

“I’m just relaxing. It’s only been a couple of weeks,” said the 62-year-old Moffett. “I’ve worked as a policeman since ’73 and a top administrator since ’83 so it’s time to rest.”

His phone started ringing as often, too. At first, he received calls every day asking for advice, but the calls have slowly tapered off, he said.

“I like helping people, so I don’t get an opportunity obviously now to do that,” he said.

Moffett ran the Vicksburg Police Department for eight years until July 2009, when he was ousted on a split vote of the city board following Mayor Paul Winfield’s election. Previously, he had led the Biloxi Police Department for 16 years. In April 2010, Moffett was hired to lead and help reshape Indianola PD.

“Law enforcement is my passion. It’s what I love to do,” Moffett said. “I felt like when I left the department here it was a top-notch department. When I left Indianola it wasn’t a top-notch department but it was a lot better than where it was.”

While working in Indianola, Moffett kept his home in Vicksburg and traveled the nearly 100 miles each day to the Delta city. All the travel began to take a toll and he wasn’t able to spend as much time with his grandchildren, he said.

“I do need a break right now, and I’m enjoying that break,” he said.

Moffett and his wife moved to Vicksburg in 2001 and bought a home. They decided not to return to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, he said.

“We like it here and made a lot of plans here,” he said.

For now, Moffett said he just plans to take it easy and wait for deer season, but he hasn’t ruled out returning to work.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” Moffett said. “This is my home. I care about this city, and I care about the police department that I helped shape.”