Woman remembers working for Pittsburgh's first Black police chief
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Doris Hilliard first began working in the Pittsburgh mayor's office in the early 1960s when she was just 17 years old.
Three years later, she moved to the police bureau when then-inspector William "Mugsy" Moore recruited her to be his secretary In a rather unorthodox way.
"He just sent a police wagon over to where I use to work in the Strip District and gathered all my stuff up. He didn't ask me if I would be his secretary, he just moved me and he said, 'Doris is going to be my secretary," she said.
"When I came to the police department in 1966, it was 1,280 police officers and out of that 1,280 it was only 106 Black Afro-American people working. That included the secretaries, the lieutenants, the sergeants, civilians and everybody."
But 20 years later, Hilliard saw history made right before her eyes when Pittsburgh promoted Moore to become the city's first Black police chief.
"Chief Moore was promoted to chief on April 21, 1986," Hilliard said.
Hilliard remained Moore's secretary until his retirement.
She then became the assistant to the late police Commander Gwen Elliot, and later the bureau's Assistant Superintendent Maurita Bryant, two people who she says were able to move up in the ranks thanks to Moore.
"One thing about him that I always remember, that he made it possible for the minorities to move up, especially the women. Gwen Elliot came up under him, Maurita," Hilliard said.
In fact, Hilliard says Moore really helped turn the tide of race relations for everyone within the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
"There was a lot of discrimination, but we got through it. But people looked up to Chief Moore. He was very well respected," Hilliard said.