Elvis-Presley-Once-Directed-Traffic-Major-Collision

Elvis Presley Once Directed Traffic After a Major Collision

Imagine sitting at a red light, and when you look up, the crossing guard isn’t a crossing guard at all, but Elvis Presley himself.

Talk about multifaceted!

Who knows, if Presley’s music career didn’t work out, he could have been a police officer. According to Graceland’s website, the King of Rock and Roll befriended many officers who helped work his security detail.

Growing up, Elvis Presley would hang out at Fire Station #4, which was in the artist’s hometown of Memphis. Conveniently located across the street was the Suzore Theater on Main Street. After school, Elvis would hang around the area with his guitar.

Upon graduating from high school, many of Elvis Presley’s friends became firefighters and police officers, only adding to his admiration for the profession.

Jim Hammers, a patrolman in Memphis at the time, once recalled how Elvis acted when he saw an officer.

“I don’t care where he was. Whenever he saw the police, Elvis always stopped and talked to them,” said Hammers.” He would drive up beside them in the street and get them to pull over. He would spend hours at a time talking with them in different places.”

The Famous Patrolman

One night when Elvis Presley was driving around town, he stumbled upon a car accident. Instead of waiting in his car for traffic to pass, the King took matters into his own hands.

Presley got out of his car and began helping police officers direct traffic. While a good idea in theory, after a bit of patrolling, fans began to recognize the notable singer. Flocking fans probably didn’t help the traffic commotion, however.

Elvis Presley Donates to Deputies

Furthermore, the website notes the generous acts Elvis Presley did for police departments across the country. He was especially close with the Memphis Police and Shelby County Sheriff’s department and regularly donated money to them.

“Elvis purchased equipment and uniforms for the Memphis Police Department’s softball team. At Christmas, he gave $100 to the Memphis patrolmen who were working in the Whitehaven neighborhood, where Graceland is located.”

In addition, Elvis Presley became very close friends with the Shelby County Sheriff. The two went back and forth with gifts and surprises.

“He gave a Mercedes Benz to then-Shelby County Sheriff Bill Morris, who was a close friend. Morris was the man who nominated Elvis as one of the Jaycees’ Ten Outstanding Young Men awards, the only award Elvis ever personally accepted. Morris also deputized Elvis as a member of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.”

Elvis Presley was close to a number of other officers throughout his career. In the event of some of their untimely deaths, Presley went to great lengths to honor them and pay the funeral expenses.