He was the Director of Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama in the
early '60s. Ironically, despite that title, he has been historically
remembered for his violent efforts to stonewall the civil rights
marches in the early '60s by instructing the police and fire
departments to turn dogs and fire-hoses on the peaceful demonstrators.
When he was elected to the position in 1960 he was voted in by the
largest percentage of votes in the history of the state. Four years
later, after the assault on the the demonstrators, the same percentage
voted to remove him from his position.