After 33 years of fighting crime, Davenport turns in his badge

After 33 years of fighting crime, Davenport turns in his badge

December 25, 2001

Jim Davenport

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

In more than three decades of local law enforcement, detective Jim Davenport has seen the good, the bad and the ugly sides of Cortez but now it’s time to turn in the badge and go fishin’.

Although retirement will allow Davenport more time to dive into his hobbies, it’s a bittersweet goodbye to a job that has molded his life over many years.

"All in all, it’s been a long ride but it’s been a good one," Davenport said with a hint of nostalgia.

Through five district attorneys, three years as police chief and 20-plus years as a detective, Davenport has had the opportunity to be involved in practically every major case in the county.

Most of the crimes and trials he tries to put behind him, yet one stands out — partly because it has not been resolved, but also because it hit closer to home than most.

On the morning of May 29, 1998, officer Dale Claxton had been in Davenport’s office. That was the last time the two spoke before gunfire took Claxton’s life in the midst of the county’s most notorious crime.

"That’s probably what stands out the most," Davenport said of his 33-year career. "That was rough on a whole lot of us. You look at the big picture and things like that happen all over the United States. You have a lot of officers killed but not quite in that same scenario — the militant/militia type. It had a lot more of an impression on a lot of us just because of the way it happened."

The case remains open, with two of the three suspects dead and one still unaccounted for, but Davenport holds onto the hope that someday there will be justice or at least closure.

"Of course it’s not resolved yet," he said. "We’ve done the charging; we’ve done a lot of research; we’ve gotten assistance from the attorney general’s office; and the cops are still working on it."

Davenport has also had the chance to watch Cortez grow and change over time. In his observations, many things have remained the same: The types of crimes committed have held consistent since he began, although there are a lot more of them because of the growth in the community, he said.

"There’s a lot of new faces out there. When I first got involved with police work and we got ready to have a jury trial, the DA would say ‘Jim, could you look at the jury list’ and ask ‘What do you think?’ I’d look at the jury list and I’d know 95 percent of the people. Now I look at a jury list and if I know 5 percent I’m doing good."

Davenport, who is also a certified fingerprinting expert, said he has always enjoyed furthering his training and credits two people in particular for shaping his career: former Cortez Police Chief Wayne Martin, and the late detective Irvin DeLushe, who showed Davenport the ins and outs of investigative work.

"Sometimes I just watched and absorbed and other times they guided me," he said.

Davenport said one of the most important things he learned was to try not to get personally involved in a case and to turn the page when the case is closed.

"Even when I was a detective with the city, when the cases are over with, you push the delete button, so to speak unless later on something comes up and you have to get involved in it again."

Davenport said he and his wife will spend their time traveling and pursuing a favorite hobby of photographing unique tombstones.

Although Davenport says he will be closing the book on his law-enforcement career with his retirement effective this Friday, many of his colleagues have already forewarned him that they will be calling on his expertise in the future.

"And I will be there when they call," he said with a sly smile and hint of modesty. "In the meantime, I’m going fishin’."