Curtis O. Dedeaux
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Curtis O. Dedeaux | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 October 1919 Harrison County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | 10 September 1966 Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S. |
Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Known for | Sheriff of Harrison County, Mississippi |
Curtis O. Dedeaux (October 6, 1919 – September 10, 1966) was an American law enforcement officer who served as the Sheriff of Harrison County, Mississippi from 1960 to 1964.
Curtis O. Dedeaux was born on October 6, 1919, in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. He was educated in Mississippi schools and then obtained a master's degree in political science from the University of Chicago. He thereafter worked at a packing plant.[1] He married and had a stepdaughter.[2]
Shrieval career
Dedeaux ran for the office of Sheriff of Harrison County in 1955 and lost. He sought office again in 1959 and defeated Edward McDonald in the second Democratic primary in August, eventually beginning his term in 1960.[1] Dedeaux was keen to keep racial relations in Harrison County orderly, and relied on black civic leader Felix Henry Dunn to achieve this. Dunn was a businessman who supplied jukeboxes and cigarettes' vending machines to various establishments around Gulfport, and Dedeaux forced other businessmen to withdraw their machines in favor of Dunn's in exchange for the black leader's cooperation on race matters. He also ignored rumors of Dunn's operation of illegal slot machines for the same purpose.[3] Following pushes by other black residents led by Gilbert R. Mason to integrate the beaches in Biloxi, Dedeaux instructed Dunn to try and stop any possible protests or unrest.[4] When Dunn said he was powerless to do this, Dedeaux threatened him.[5] When an attempt by 100 black citizens to integrate the beaches in Biloxi on April 24, 1960, was met with violence from a white mob, the sheriff ordered his deputies to not arrest anyone.[6] As violence spread throughout the city, Dedeaux ordered his deputies to protect Mason's home from a bomb threat. He later accused Dunn of responsibility for the riot for failing to stop the black protesters.[7]
On the night of June 10/11, 1961, Dedeaux received three anonymous phone calls at his home requesting that he personally investigate claims of illegal gambling at clubs along U.S. Route 90. Dedeaux dispatched his deputies to investigate the complaints and remained at home. The deputies found no evidence of criminal activity, but at about 2 a.m. on June 11 a dynamite charge blew up Dedeaux's private car, damaging his home. He believed that this was an assassination attempt in revenge for some of his policing activity.[2]
Mississippi was officially a dry state at the time Dedeaux was in office, but Harrison County was home to numerous bars and an active tourist industry, and he rarely enforced prohibition laws. When asked why, he stated, "If I tried to enforce the liquor laws, I'd bankrupt hundreds of businesses here. I'd cut the tourist trade by half, maybe by three quarters."[8] In June 1962 Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett ordered a crackdown on liquor sales in the Gulf coast region and dispatched the National Guard to raid nightclubs. Dedeaux requested that all establishments which sold liquor "remained closed until further notice".[9] He criticized Barnett's crackdown as a publicity stunt, saying "He's not going to change anything on the coast and he knows it."[10] Dedeaux left office in 1964.[1]