Cleburne PD Lt. Moseley retires after 25 years

Apr. 25—After 25 years on the job, Cleburne Police Department Lt. Gary Moseley is moving on from CPD, but not from law enforcement.

Such was not the original plan for Moseley, who will soon relocate a county over to begin his next chapter as a deputy constable for the Tarrant County Constable's Office.

"Just different opportunities," Moseley answered when asked about his retirement from CPD. "I always told my wife I'd retire in 25 years and really had no plans to work in law enforcement after that. I figured I'd do something else. I kept up my paramedics license so thought maybe I'd go back into the medical field. But [the TCCO] contacted me so I thought, 'Well, maybe so.'"

Moseley joked that while he'll miss the job at CPD as well as his fellow officers, he won't miss night shifts, something he won't be required to deal with in Tarrant County.

Moseley started with CPD on April 14, 1998 and officially retires on Sunday.

Before CPD, Moseley, 55, worked as a paramedic for MedStar in Fort Worth.

"My mother was in the medical field so I think that influenced me to gravitate toward being a paramedic," Moseley said of his original career choice.

Having gone on to serve more than two decades with CPD, Moseley on Thursday reflected on his last shift, a night shift, with the department.

"It's just, I don't know, a mix of feelings," Moseley said before his final shift began.

Moseley found himself initially at a loss for words when asked the best part of being a police officer.

"A lot of that involves questions you don't really think about when you're doing it," Moseley said. "But the aspects I liked best where those times when I could help someone whether they're in a bad spot or they've lost some property that's been stolen. Those times.

"Most people, when they have to call 911, they're going through one of the worst moments of their life. It might be my fifth or sixth call of the shift but to them it's a big deal. So, just being able to serve the people in that way and help them has always been something I've liked."

Other than long hours, Moseley also found himself at a loss when asked the worst part of being an officer and added that, in the overall, he's thoroughly enjoyed his career in law enforcement.

Cleburne police officers and staff past and present joined city officials, Cleburne firefighters, family and friends on Friday at the Cleburne Railroad Museum to honor Moseley and wish him well in future endeavors.

In presenting a plaque to Moseley, CPD Chief Rob Severance noted that Moseley served as the tactical commander of the department's emergency response team in addition to numerous other duties and responsibilities through the years.

"We appreciate all you've done for the department and the residents of Cleburne," Severance told Moseley. "You've made a difference to our community and to the officers you've worked with. We're going to miss you."

Of Moseley's unofficial title of CPD historian — A subject Moseley has presented several talks on through the years at civic clubs and other events — Severance said he hopes a book is forthcoming and plans to buy several copies if so.

Such is the hope, Moseley said.

"I've always been interested in history since I was young, done a lot of genealogy stuff on my family and all so it was just a natural thing for me to become kind of the historian of CPD," Moseley said. "It's just that, since I was working here and loved CPD, I wanted to know all the history. I realized pretty early on that there's a rich history there that needed to be told."

Moseley said the CPD stories from older officers and things passed down stirred his interest early on in his career.

"I researched all that to find out what was true and not and then researched even deeper. From there I started giving presentations with a lot of information. But over the years I've uncovered tons more information than I was able to use in those presentations. So I wrote a book, which I've titled "Cleburne Police Department: The First 150 Years," I've done the manuscript and am looking for a publisher now."

For someone whose job involves talking and communication, Moseley found himself tongue tied and a bit emotional at his own retirement party.

"I don't know what to say," Moseley said. "I just want to thank everybody. I'm going to miss you all. A lot of guys here I worked as their field training officer and supervisor. This is a day that I didn't imagine and it's hard to speak without choking up. So I'll just say once more that I've appreciated all the opportunities I've had here. I'm going to miss all of you and all of you all just stay safe."