Copyright: 2003 The Courier-Journal
Contact: cjletter@courier-journal.com
Website: http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Author: Jessie Halladay, The Courier-Journal
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues)

STUMBO TAPS CITY OFFICER FOR NEW UNIT

Kentucky's new attorney general will launch a crackdown on drugs to be
headed by Officer David James, president of the union local representing
Louisville Metro police.

James, who has spent 14 of his 19 years on the force as a Louisville police
narcotics officer, is retiring from the department to lead the new Office
of the Kentucky Bureau of Investigations.

The bureau, to be formed by Attorney General-elect Greg Stumbo after he
takes office Jan. 5, will focus on combating illegal drug activity
throughout the state.

James will report directly to Stumbo, who says the bureau will require no
new funding. Stumbo said in an interview yesterday that he plans to
reorganize the existing structure of 40 sworn officers in the attorney
general's office who investigate criminal activity, welfare fraud, public
corruption and other illegal activity.

Those officers will refocus their attention to include drug crimes, Stumbo
said.

The bureau will perform its own investigations as well as gather
information from other agencies "so that we can attack the distribution of
these illegal drugs," Stumbo said.

James, who said he will officially resign soon from the police department
and from his position with the Fraternal Order of Police at the next
meeting on Jan. 20, said he was offered the job last week and accepted over
the weekend. He told members of the FOP at their general meeting Tuesday night.

James said he also notified Chief Robert White of his plan to resign.

"IT WAS A difficult decision ... but it's a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity," James said.

Narcotics "was my main focus in life, and I enjoy narcotics
investigations," James said in an interview last night.

"I believe narcotics are destroying some of the basic fabrics of American
society. If we can control our drug problem to some degree, we can control
the rest of our crime."

Stumbo said he selected James for the job because of his experience with
and zest for narcotics work.

"David James fit the bill," Stumbo said. "I sought him out."

During his three years as president of the FOP, James often spoke out
publicly on issues as the voice of police officers. He has opposed
establishing a citizen-review panel to look into use of force by police,
lobbied for more training for officers and, most recently, opposed a
proposed cut in police health-insurance benefits.

JAMES, an African American, has been active in the FOP during a time when
the police department has come under criticism for several fatal shootings
of black men by police. He often spoke out in support of the officers
involved in the shootings, defending their actions as being within their
justified use of force.

That sometimes put him at odds with members of the community - who have
gone so far as to label him an "Uncle Tom" for defending white officers, he
said.

For James, the issue is not about race. It's about whether officers perform
their duties appropriately in dealing with suspects who threaten them. Even
when speaking out has been uncomfortable, he said, he's felt he had to do it.

"When I took this position I promised to do one thing, and that's the right
thing," he said

He expects to do the same in his new job. Both Stumbo and James said it
will take several months to get the new bureau off the ground. They will
seek grants to pay for such investigative equipment as surveillance gear,
cars and other tools, as well as additional staff.

Eventually, Stumbo said, he plans to create satellite offices in Eastern
and Western Kentucky to make it easier for people to have access to the
attorney general and the investigators.

To start, the bureau plans to partner with other jurisdictions, including
the state police, to share resources, Stumbo said.

When Stumbo takes office, he plans to issue an executive reorganization
order to create the bureau. James will join the staff Jan. 15.

Stumbo, who served as a Democratic state representative from Prestonsburg,
campaigned for attorney general on the need to combat illegal drugs -
snuffing out the source of drug distribution.

James' term as FOP president was not scheduled to end until November 2005.
Once he resigns, the vice president assumes the role and a new vice
president is elected by the union board and delegates, not the general
membership, James said.

Since the current vice president, former Sgt. Gary Fischer, recently
retired from the department, he will serve as president only long enough to
elect a new vice president who can assume leadership, James said.