USM Police Department History Project “Labor of Love” for Officer David Byrd

Thu, 10/31/2019 - 10:28am | By: David Tisdale

The story of a law enforcement agency that began as the work of a lone night watchman and is now a full-fledged, accredited police force – The University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) University Police Department (UPD) – is one that Officer David Byrd is happy to tell, and continue to learn more about.

About seven years ago, Byrd, who has served with UPD for nearly 20 years and is currently its accreditation and compliance officer, took on the task of examining the history of USM’s safety operations since the school first opened in 1912. As time allows in his schedule, Byrd continues poring over a variety of documents, photos, directories, school annuals and newspaper archives in his quest to learn all about the transformation of the USM police force from its inception.

“Former USM Police Chief Bob Hopkins first asked me to take on the task of compiling the history of those who served as head of the department, getting photos and biographies of each,” Byrd said. “Since then, I’ve worked to find out about all of the men and women who have made a contribution to UPD over the last century. It’s been a real labor of love.”

Byrd said the purpose of his efforts is to “learn about where we, as a department, came from, how our history has shaped us to become what we are now and may be in the future.”

“We also want to acknowledge the service of those who protected our students, faculty, staff and visitors over the years, making our campus a safe place to work, study, or to come to enjoy a game, theater or musical production, or other events,” Byrd said.

William E. Fail, a local pastor who was also a town marshal and alderman for the city of Hattiesburg, served as USM’s first night watchman from 1912-1928. Fail lived in an apartment situated inside a World War I memorial located at the entrance of campus (the structure was demolished after incurring heavy damage from being struck by a mattress truck in the early 1960s). In 1953, the school’s security department was established, and John Reiter was the school’s first formal head of safety, serving as director of security from 1953-1960. Max Bromley (1980) was the first to hold the title of chief of police.

Willie Oubre holds the second-longest tenure as head of the department, serving from 1965-1980 as director of security. Oubre initiated education and training for the department’s personnel, and it was under his leadership that its officers were first armed. His son, Keith Oubre, also served as chief of the department from 1993-1998.

Hopkins is the longest-serving chief of the department (2001-2019), and was responsible for securing state and national accreditation. He was succeeded by Rusty Keyes, who previously served the department in a variety of capacities, including as a detective and assistant chief.

Byrd said resources such as USM’s University Archives and the Hattiesburg American and Student Printz newspapers have been invaluable in his research efforts. In addition to finding the names of previous employees of the department, his next endeavor will be to compose a history of the department for University Archives.

A collection of photos of former heads of security at USM adorn the wall at the entrance of the department’s offices at Bond Hall on the Hattiesburg campus, although a suitable photo of former Acting Chief Jim Tullos (1992-1993) has eluded Byrd in this compilation.

“David has done a great job with this project,” said Chief Keyes. “It’s fascinating to learn about what he’s uncovered in studying the history of our department, including the contributions former officers have made. It’s important to know where we’ve come from to chart a path toward where we want to be to meet our overall goal of keeping our campuses safe.” 

To share items related to the history of the USM University Police Department that could enhance this project, including photos, documents or memorabilia, contact Officer Byrd at dkbyrd@usm.edu.