JFP Person of the Day: Beau Phillips

Lacey McLaughlin

Beau Phillips is walking 400 miles to raise awareness about low wages for law enforcement officers.

by Lacey McLaughlin
March 9, 2010

A former Tupelo police officer, Beau Phillips knows how difficult it can be to support a family. After working a 12-hour night shift, he would often change his uniform and go straight to his second job as school security officer.

After speaking with other law enforcement officers who shared similar stories, Phillips decided to walk 400 miles from Gulfport to Southaven to raise awareness about the low pay scale for the men and woman who work in law enforcement in Mississippi.
" A lot of law enforcement officers do the job because their heart is in it and they want to do the right thing," Phillips says. "An officer might be more rested and more alert if he didn't have to work a second job to make ends meet."

Phillips also is raising money for the Law Enforcement Community Relief Fund, an emergency fund for law enforcement officers that Attorney General Jim Hood started. Yesterday, Phillips met Hood on the corner of State and High streets where he shared his story and continued his walk to the Capitol to meet with legislators.

Phillips, a former U.S. marine who served in Iraq, said he started the fund to give back to others.
"A year and a half ago, I met a sheriff's deputy in a poor county who told me about the extra jobs he had to take on to make ends meet," Phillips says. "I always wanted to (hike) the Appalachian Trail, and realized I was never going to have the time to do it. So I thought what could I do to raise awareness and still get to do my walk?"

Enduring blistered feet and carrying a 60-pound backpack are just a few of the difficulties Phillips has faced since his walk started on March 1. But he says the support from local police departments and citizens along the way makes it "well worth it."

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the average hourly wage for Mississippi police and sheriff's patrol officers was $14.65. Mississippi has the second lowest wage in the United States, with only Puerto Rico ranking lower with an average hourly wage of $12.90.

Phillips is now the district manager for Glock Inc., a gun-manufacturing company. He lives in Tupelo with his wife and two children.

To donate to the Law Enforcement Community Relief Fund, visit the attorney general's Web site. To find out more about Phillips' walk visit the Mississippi Walk For Law Enforcement's Web site.

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