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Serving
OUR
Why did you decide to become a dispatcher?
I started dispatching in South Carolina in 2007.
Dispatching was never a job I’d really thought
about doing before but a friend suggested that I
might be good at it and knew of an opening at a
local police department. It was and still is the
best job I’ve ever had.
How long have you been with the Clinton
Police Department?
I’ve been with the Clinton Police Department
for 10 years. I moved back home to Mississippi
in 2008 and got a job at CPD pretty much
immediately.
Tell us about your family.
My parents live in Utica and my brother lives in
Clinton. My dad is a retired high school
principal. He coached high school football for
many years and is still referred to as “Coach” by
most people that know him. My mom is minister
of music at Utica Baptist church, was a music
teacher for several years, and still teaches piano.
What is the toughest thing you have
experienced in your job?
Dispatchers listen to and try to help people
through what is sometimes the worst day of
their lives. Whether it’s a car crash or medical
emergency, a house burglary or car theft, talking
to people in an emergency or crisis is stressful.
That said, the most difficult calls I’ve taken over
the years have been emergencies involving
children. Those calls always seem to stick with
you longer. Even if the outcome is generally ok,
those calls create more stress than most others.
DISPATCHER
Mandy Walker
CLINTON POLICE
DEPARTMENT
Share some things you enjoy doing in your
spare time.
I’m addicted to Netflix and any other bingewatching
portal. I also read a lot, generally a
book a week, sometimes more if I’m stuck on
midnight shifts.
What are three things on your bucket list?
Mostly my bucket list items are vacations or
travel destinations. I’d love to road trip
throughout the country. I want to go to Alaska
and Hawaii. I’d also like to do a European
vacation and spend a month or better going
from country to country.
Who is someone you admire and why?
I admire anyone who can make a career of
dispatching—veteran dispatchers here in
Mississippi and everywhere else in the world
who keep showing up year after year to answer
phones and dispatch calls despite the high
stress levels, crazy work schedules and general
drama of a 911 communication center.
Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Hopefully here at the Clinton Police Department.
I’ve moved from dispatcher to supervisor over
the last 10 years and it has become my home.
If you could give one piece of advice to a
young person, what would it be?
Learn skills or information that could be helpful
in an emergency (changing a tire, know where
you are, know important phone numbers and
addresses etc.) if you find yourself without a
cell phone, the internet, or GPS. People of all
ages, but especially young people, tend to rely
too heavily on technology for everything and
have difficulty functioning without it.
What is a favorite childhood memory?
Disney World! It’s still fun as an adult but it
seemed so much bigger and magical as a kid.
What is the biggest mistake you think young
people make today?
Not going to Disney World enough. Seriously,
I don’t know what the biggest mistake is.
People make such a wide variety of mistakes
when they’re young. Probably the hardest to
overcome are the ones for which you don’t ask
for help.
What is your favorite thing about the
City of Clinton?
Clinton has a strong sense of community and
civic pride.
What is your favorite thing about Hinds County?
Having the comforts of civilization nearby but
still being able to retreat to the small towns and
rural life.
Hometown Clinton • 37