Police captain says farewell

When Capt. Joe Hyde joined the Southaven Police Department in 1982, he was one of seven officers on the newly formed force.

“It was wild and woolly back then,” Hyde said. “It was a new city, and things were rowdy. We tamed it.”

Now, after 31 years on the job, he’s calling it quits. His last day on the job was March 28.

He was honored for his years of service Monday at a retirement luncheon at the police department. Chief Tom Long, who was Hyde’s partner in the 1980s, presented him with a plaque.

“We are here for the retiring of a dinosaur,” Long joked with Hyde and the room full of officers during the luncheon.

“Seriously, it is hard to believe that I will come to work and there will be no Joe Hyde. He will be really missed. He has been a good friend and partner to me through the years.”

The department has grown from four officers when the city was founded in 1980 to 107 officers today. Hyde, Long and Deputy Chief Steve Pirtle are the longest-serving members in the department.

Working his way through the ranks, Hyde, 66, has seen a lot of firsts in his career. He was one of the department’s first detectives and a member of the first SWAT team.

He is also one of only two officers to receive the department’s highest commendation — the Medal of Honor — for his valor, combat and lifesaving skills he exhibited in 1989 during a bank

STAN CARROLL/ THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL During a luncheon to mark his retirement , Southaven Police Capt. Joe Hyde (center) accepts a basketball goal with a backboard signed by the officers under his shift command. “Basketball goals in the street are my pet peeve,” Hyde said. “So I’m always...