(Fort Wayne, IN)-The Indiana State Police in Fort Wayne has announced the retirement of Steuben County resident Sergeant James M. Harris from the Department following a career that spanned 37 ½ years.
Harris, 64, is a native of Marion, Indiana and a 1969 graduate of Marion High School. He attended Ball State University for two years before enlisting in the United States Navy. During his service to his nation, Harris was stationed in Sugar Grove, West Virginia and served in Naval Intelligence before being honorably discharged in May of 1974.
In September of 1977, Harris entered the 33rd Indiana State Police Recruit Academy and on December 18, 1977, he was appointed as a Trooper and assigned to the Lowell Post. In October of 1981, he transferred to the Ligonier Post until its closing in May of 1982. He was then transferred to the Fort Wayne Post and assigned to patrol duties in Steuben County.
Harris was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in August of 1990 and transferred to the Indiana State Police Aviation Section as a fixed wing aircraft pilot. He holds a commercial instrument rating and has logged approximately 6,400 flight hours in his 25 years as a pilot for the Department. His duties as a pilot included a broad array of searches, surveillance, speed timing and transportation. His duties have had him flying in a law enforcement capacity all over the Midwest.
During his career, Harris has served as a Field Training Officer and a member of the Tactical Intervention Platoon. This past December, Harris was recognized for achieving another major milestone in his career, one million safe driving miles. He lent his voice to the Steuben County Crime Stoppers radio advertisement from 1985 to 1990. “I feel so fortunate to be able to do what I’ve always wanted to do, ever since I was a little boy, and to do it for an entire career” said Harris. “How many people get to say that?”
