After more than 15 years behind the wheel of a patrol car, Lt. Milton Moore has earned his spot in the driver’s seat of the Vicksburg Police Department’s Patrol Division.

Last fall, Moore was promoted to his current rank and named patrol commander for the police department, and he is tasked with steering the department’s uniformed patrol officers — the vast majority of police the public encounter every day.

Sometimes that guidance comes from in office, but often it comes alongside patrolmen on their beats

“It’s in me. I like to work. I come in to the office and get done what I need to do and then I get out on the street. Your officers will respect you when they see you working hard,” Moore said.

The hard work is driven by Moore’s love for his hometown. He graduated from Vicksburg High School in 1987 before joining the U.S. Navy and serving in Operation Desert Storm. After the Navy, he eventually followed in his the footsteps of his late father Artel Moore, who was also a Vicksburg police officer.

“I love it because I’ve been around law enforcement my entire life,” Moore said.

As patrol commander, Moore is a liaison between the officers under his command and the department’s top administration.

“It’s a challenging job, but I love it,” he said. “I’m so grateful that Chief (Walter) Armstrong had the faith in me to do this job,” Moore said.

More joined VPD more than 15 years ago, and worked in patrol until he was named one of the department’s four watch commanders. Watch commanders supervise 10 to 12 officers on duty during their given shift, but now Moore is supervisor to about 50 uniformed cops.

“When I was the watch commander, I gained so much experience. I tried to run a strict-disciplined watch,” Moore said.

Moore’s hard work and discipline earned him his current position, Armstrong said.

“Lt. Moore was one of the most thorough watch commanders when he served in that supervisor position,” Armstrong said. “In turn, his officers did a very thorough and effective job. There was very seldom anytime that we needed to discipline any of his officers because he ran a very tight ship.”

Moore continues to run a tight ship, and some of his duties include making sure officers present themselves and their patrol cars neatly to the public.

“You’d hate to see an officer riding around in a nasty, dirty vehicle,” Moore said.