By Felix Hoover

For YourNewsColumbus

Posted 05-10-09

 

 

A peer from one coast and a childhood friend-turned-celebrity from the other were among the folks who honored former Police Chief James G. Jackson on Saturday at the Hilton Columbus at Easton.

 

Clarence Edwards, former police chief in Montgomery County, Maryland, said that he and Jackson knew each other through their affiliation with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and had been able to commiserate about problems they shared by virtue of professional rank and race.

 

Edwards, now a senior law enforcement and security consultant in Silver Spring, quoted an unknown source, "He who breaks through the brush first gets the thorns" and added of Jackson, "We know he got his share of thorns."

 

Popular actor Hal Williams said he was glad to travel the 2,300 miles from Palm Desert, Calif., to Columbus for the salute to his childhood buddy.

 

"I have been a friend of the chief since I was eight," Williams said.

 

They had been newspaper carriers -- Jackson showed Williams his technique for lugging around the hefty Sunday papers -- and shared many experiences growing up on what then was a vibrant, thriving East Side.

A trait that many people associate with Jackson, stubborness, is a mislabel, Williams said.

"Jim has always been a proud man, not stubborn, but determined," Williams said.

Such determination helped Jackson remain a member of the Columbus Division of Police for 51 years, including the last 18 as chief. He was the longest serving chief in the division's history and the longest active serving chief of any metropolitan city in the country.

 

Saturday's audience included numerous men and women from the police and fire divisions who had worked closely with the chief through the years.

 

Commander Jeffrey Blackwell, emcee for the program, said, "I was blessed as young officer to be brought into the presence of Chief James Jackson. He not only blazed a trail for us, but stood at the end like a lighthouse."

 

Blackwell introduced many of the public officials from the city and county, out-of-state guests, Jackson's wife, Mary, and other familiy members. Former heavyweight boxing champ James "Buster" Douglas also was on hand for the event.

 

Several people from First Church of God, including Bishop Timothy Clarke, Officer Regina Dudley, Blackwell and comedian Andrew Ford took part in the program.