Presley's law enforcement appreciation dates back to childhood
Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Elvis Presley had an appreciation for law enforcement that dated back to his childhood
- In March 1976, the entertainer assisted at the scene of a car accident in Memphis until members of the Memphis Police Department arrived at the scene
- Presley was named an honorary captain of the department just a month prior
Elvis Presley had a deep respect for law enforcement.
The entertainer was in Memphis, Tenn., in March 1976 — just a month after he was named an honorary captain in the Memphis Police Department — when he witnessed a car accident.
Presley pulled over and approached the scene, asking the drivers if they needed help and staying with them until the police arrived. The moment is reflected on during a wider discussion of Presley's connection to the police, shared on Graceland's website.
"One night, Elvis came up on a traffic accident and got out to help the cops direct traffic. It worked well for a while, until fans started noticing it was the one and only Elvis Presley who was directing traffic," they wrote.
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Credit: Lia Toby/Getty
Six years prior, Presley was also made an honorary deputy sheriff of Shelby County by Sheriff Roy Nixon on October 10, 1970. His close connection to those two departments would see Presley donating his time and money to law enforcement, from visiting working patrolmen on holidays to supporting the department's softball team.
Priscilla Presley opened up about her late ex-husband's love of law enforcement in Elvis, By the Presleys. She recalled, "He had a million badges and a blue police light on his car."
“He liked nothing more than putting that light on his car and pulling people over. He’d walk up to the window, show off his official badge and say, ‘Son, you were speeding. Just want to warn you to slow down,' " Priscilla continued.
"The driver would see him and remain speechless. He liked seeing himself as a [lawman] and protector of the public. He carried guns, and if he happened to see, for instance, two men fighting at a gas station, he’d drive over and stop the fight. His very presence stopped things [from] escalating."
Credit: Lia Toby/Getty
The groundbreaking singer, who died on August 16, 1977, at age 42, would have turned 91 on Jan 8. Priscilla recently spoke with Hello! Magazine about her new memoir, Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, and shared what she thought he'd be like today if he was alive.
"I think he’d be doing the same thing in life – singing and touring. He loved it,” Priscilla, 80, said.
The Naked Gun star said that she and Elvis, who were married for six years from 1967 to 1973, after dating for nearly a decade, remained close after their split.
“We always remained friendly and would still get together,” she recalled while speaking to Hello! Magazine. "Of course, we had our daughter [the late Lisa Marie Presley], and I would bring her to see her dad perform and made sure they spent a lot of time together. She’d spent extensive time with him at Graceland," she said.
"We still cared for each other,” she added of her dynamic with the iconic singer, while noting that "he just had a great sense of humor and [was] fun to be with."
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