Arlington Police Lieutenant James Long chose a career in law enforcement six decades ago and has continued to serve long after retiring. Lt. Long recently achieved a milestone that he has been ready to celebrate - 60 years of combined service as a police officer and volunteer with the Arlington Police Department.
Lt. Long, who is 81 years old, was a fresh-faced recruit in 1954 when the Arlington Police Department only had about 10 officers. His police ID number is 004. At that time, Ott Cribbs was the police chief, Tom Vandergriff was the mayor, and Arlington had less than 10,000 residents. Today Arlington has more than 600 officers and 370,000 residents.
In July 1992, Lt. Long retired after 38 years of service. The next day he began volunteering for the police department. He has served as a reserve officer and works with new police recruits during scenario training. Most recently, Lt. Long has made it a point to work with the front desk officer at the Ott Cribbs Public Safety Building. Lt. Long is also an active member of the Arlington Citizen Police Academy and volunteers with the Mansfield Police Department near his south Arlington home.
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