Nationality American Citizenship U.S.A. | Name Albert Lingo | |
Occupation Alabama Highway Patrolman Known for Director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety 1963-1965 Died August 19, 1969, Birmingham, Alabama, United States | ||
Colonel Albert J. Lingo, also known as Al Lingo (January 22, 1910 - August 19, 1969) was a career Alabama Highway Patrolman who served as Director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety from 1963 to 1965, including the turbulent early 1960s years marked by marches and demonstrations that characterized the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. South. Lingo's service under Alabama governor George Wallace with regard to the Selma to Montgomery marches has been characterized in a negative light, though Lingo himself disputed that characterization, stating that he was following orders from the governor as required by his oath of office and that he originally wanted to allow the marchers to continue their march. He resigned as director effective October 1, 1965, and later ran for election to be sheriff of Jefferson County, Alabama; he died at age 59 on August 17, 1969.