Good morning, Netizens...

A rumor that I heard two weeks ago, that Sgt. Jim Faddis of the Spokane Police Department was seen in City Hall in an area where he would have been inquiring about his retirement benefits, is true. It was confirmed yesterday by a story about the retirement of Detective Jerry Keller, here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/dec/13/no-longer-a-lawman-but-still-an-advocate/

Detective Faddis has retired, and although I will not speculate on how long he has been a police officer, nor how many awards he has won for excellence, this brings to a close the unfortunate personal relationship between he and I. I first met Sgt. Jim Faddis when he was playing Bluegrass Music at various events throughout a three-state area. He was one of the most-gifted musicians I had met in several decades, with a dead-on “high lonesome” voice valued by Bluegrass aficionados and had a repertoire covering a wide variety of musical genres, from Rock and Roll to Folk, Bluegrass and back again.

He eventually began posting in Community Comment, and despite the number of vituperative comments made about Police Officers, he and several other officers for a brief period of time gave our readers a meaningful insight into how police perceive the public, something that is still desperately needed today.

In retrospect, Jim Faddis was a good cop. I truly will miss him, but I imagine he is putting as much distance between himself and the Spokane Police Department as he can.

Dave

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