BY COLLEEN JANSSEN: Now that Westminster Police Department Sgt. James Kingsmill is retired, his legacy will live on in the many projects that bear his mark.
He helped select the historic photos that line the hallways of the station.
He has been in charge of the police security for the Tet Parade.
He helped design the inside of the station to incorporate a streamlined layout, and created a scheduling format 25 years ago that is still used today.
BY COLLEEN JANSSEN: Now that Westminster Police Department Sgt. James Kingsmill is retired, his legacy will live on in the many projects that bear his mark.
He helped select the historic photos that line the hallways of the station.
He has been in charge of the police security for the Tet Parade.
He helped design the inside of the station to incorporate a streamlined layout, and created a scheduling format 25 years ago that is still used today.
“They call it the Kingsmill-Combo,” said Kingsmill. “We run 24/7 and I created a schedule of 12-1/2 hour shifts and 10 hour shifts so citizens have maximum personnel for as many hours as possible.”
Since he created the formula, he has been in charge of organizing the schedule, until six months ago, when someone else took it over in anticipation of his retirement. “Every six months, there is a shift change, so it all has to be created again.”
Kingsmill’s last official work day was Feb. 6. That’s the day he turned 50, which was his goal, to retire by his 50th birthday.
“My dad always had boats and I used to go fishing with my him and my brother,” said Kingsmill. “Since 1975, before there was Dana Point, we left from Oceanside Harbor.”
“I grew up fishing the docks and would watch the Harbor Patrol," he added. "They would save boats, put fires out and arrest bad guys. When I was 18, I went to the Harbor Patrol to sign up and found out I had to be 21. They told me to get my associate’s degree, go to a police academy, then come back.”
The summer after high school, Kingsmill started college and received his Associate’s Degree in two years. One month later, in July of 1987, he went to the academy at Golden West College. He graduated No. 3 in his class.
“One day, a sergeant who did recruiting for the Westminster Police Department approached me and asked why I wasn’t committed yet to an agency,” said Kingsmill. “I told him I was going to the Harbor Patrol. Then he told me Westminster pays $1,000 more per month than the Harbor Patrol. I told my girlfriend, now my wife, and my decision was made. Westminster made me a conditional offer based on passing my psychological and polygraph.”
Kingsmill started on patrol, then served two tours as a detective. He took a leave for one year to captain a fishing boat full-time, something he has done part-time during his entire career in law enforcement. He was encouraged to come back to the department on patrol, moving up to detective for three months, then serving as a sergeant for the remainder of his career.
He offers advice for those thinking about a career in law enforcement.
“Make sure it’s a calling, not just a job,” said Kingsmill. “If you don’t, you won’t do a good job."
And, then, this.
"You deal with bad human beings. You need to get a hobby where you interact with good citizens, not just cops. When you just encounter filth, you become jaded.”
Kingsmill remembers some of the hardest and most frustrating cases he has worked. He recalled a case of shaken-baby syndrome where the boyfriend killed a child. Kingsmill had to go to the autopsy, an experience he has never forgotten.
In 1994, there were 10 homicides. The suspect is in Mexico, but that country won’t extradite him.
Then there was a case of a man who shot his wife and himself in front of a 5 year old.
Each of those cases left an imprint on his mind and heart. So he goes fishing.
“When I’m fishing, there’s not an iota of policing in my mind. I will be a captain for two sport-fishing boats,” said Kingsmill. “We go south to Mag Bay; it’s the holy grail of Striped Marlin fishing. There are hundreds of them in the fall. We catch and release.”
Kingsmill ended his final day doing the Honor Walk. This tradition offers retiring personnel the opportunity to walk down the exit hallway lined with fellow officers who wish them well, then out the door to a new beginning.
