Published: September 27, 2008 10:20 pm            

AT RANDOM: Compassion, leadership make HPD detective successful

Television has taught us to fear detectives. In the realm of the cop drama, the detective is always the tough guy in the scruffy suit shining a heat lamp in the face of some low-level hood and shouting things like “Tell me the truth!”

One walk through the criminal investigation division offices at the Huntsville Police Department will quickly shatter that stereotype.

Here, you find a tight knit group of veteran officers willing to do anything for each other and anything to protect the residents of Huntsville.

At the head of this division is a friendly, enthusiastic police officer named Sgt. James Barnes.

From an early age, Barnes found he had a passion for something, but it wasn't law enforcement.

Growing up in Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers, Barnes’passion was sports.

“I loved every sport,” Barnes said. “Football, baseball, basketball. I wasn't very good at them, but I loved them, so my first dream was to be a reporter for ESPN.”

After his family relocated to Texas while he was in his teens, Barnes carried his dream on to Sam Houston State University, where he entered as a television and radio major.

His transition to law enforcement would grow out of a day when he agreed to help a nervous friend.

“It was an accident,” Barnes said. “I definitely had some interest in law enforcement, but I was still very much into sports reporting. I had a roommate who was a criminal justice major, and one day he was going to the police department for testing and he asked me to go with him, so I did. I took the test and passed, and 14 years later here I am.”

So, in 1994, Barnes changed his life by taking a job at the Huntsville Police Department and switching his major to criminal justice.

Like every Huntsville cop, Barnes started in patrol, where he quickly distinguished himself as a sharp and enthusiastic officer ready to take on challenges, winning several officer of the year and patrol officer of the year awards.

After 10 years on the streets, Barnes was offered a position with Huntsville’s detectives, and began working in criminal investigation in late 2004.

“The chief at the time asked me if I would give it a shot, so I did, and I grew to love it,” Barnes said. “I always thought I would have more fun on the streets, but this is a different side of law enforcement. It’s not as unpredictable as street work, but it’s fun in its own way.”

His days as a detective brought some unpredictable cases, including one of Huntsville’s rare homicides, assigned to him and fellow Detective Ken Foulch.

“We had very little to go on at first in that case,” Barnes said. “It took us a long time to solve it, but it was one of those things that we never really gave up on, and we were both very pleased when we were able to solve it.”

In 2006 Barnes was promoted to Sergeant and moved back to patrol to begin supervisory work. That same year, new police chief Jean Sanders began to restructure the department, and placed Barnes in charge of the criminal investigation division.

“His ability to not only have compassion in dealing with victims, but to also effectively deal with suspects in cases was a big part of that decision,” Sanders said. “His overall leadership ability is extremely important as well. He is able to guide his detectives in the way that I believe investigations should be conducted.”

As a supervisor Barnes finds himself confronted with a set of challenges completely different from those he faced as a patrol officer or a detective, but credits his co-worker with making the transition easy for him.

“There are days I really miss the streets,” Barnes said. “I’m still in a learning mode when it comes to supervision, and the guys that I work with make it really easy for me.”

Among the challenges of supervising a division, there is still the obligation of being a detective, which lends a different dimension to the job.

“The thing that makes patrol different from investigation is that detectives always have incoming stuff on our desks,” Barnes said. “We get new cases every day, and we always have a pile of cases on our desk. It’s there today, it’ll be there tomorrow, it’ll be there next month, but you have to keep working.”

After 14 years and countless cases, Barnes finds the most rewarding part of his job to be the bond he shares with his fellow officers.

“My favorite part is the camaraderie between me and my co-workers,” Barnes said. “I enjoy helping people and I enjoy putting bad guys in jail, but there will always be bad guys to catch. Working here with these guys is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.