Speakers

James began his law enforcement career as a military policeman in the U S Air Force in 1983.  He has served our community as a member of the Sebastopol Police Department since 1996.  Hired as a Police Officer, he has worked in Patrol as well as conducting and overseeing major criminal investigations.  James was also our very first School Resource Officer where he worked with all of the public schools in Sebastopol.  He was later assigned as a Motorcycle Traffic Officer when SPD received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety in 1994 to start a Traffic Unit. Over the course of his service at SPD, James has helped lead the agency as a Field Training Officer, Acting Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and most recently as a Police Captain.   Through his affiliation as a Recruit Training Officer at the Santa Rosa Junior College Public Safety Training Center, James has assisted in the basic law enforcement training of over 200 police academy recruits – many of whom are now active law enforcement officers at agencies throughout the north bay area. 

James holds an Associate of Arts degree in Administration of Justice, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law Enforcement Management, and a Master of Business Administration degree.  He is a graduate of the California Commission on POST’s Command College, and recently completed the CPCA Executive Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management.  James and his wife, Francine, have five grown children and ten grandchildren.