DEL.ICIO.USJohns Creek corporal seeks explanation for fatality
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/09/08
James Harris Jr. was outraged when he heard that Darlene Dukes was dead on arrival at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. The Johns Creek police corporal was determined to find out what had gone wrong.
Harris had performed CPR on the woman for more than 30 minutes awaiting an ambulance misdirected by the Fulton County 911 center. That was on top of a 30-minute delay in his receiving the call for help.
 Doug Nurse/dnurse@ajc.com | ||
| Johns Creek Cpl. James Harris Jr. performed CPR on Darlene Dukes for more than 30 minutes while waiting for a misdirected ambulance. Dukes, 39, was dead on arrival at the hospital. | ||
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Then word came that Dukes, 39, and the mother of two, did not survive.
"I was livid," he said. "It takes quite a bit to upset me, but once I'm going, I'm gone. It was a matter of doing the right thing."
Hours after Dukes died Aug. 2, Harris requested records from the Fulton Emergency Management Agency, seeking answers. When Fulton EMA refused, he filed a written request for the audiotape of her call to 911 and transcripts, both of which are public records. The dispatcher who sent the ambulance to the wrong address has since been fired.
"That's the way he is," Johns Creek Police Chief Ed Densmore said. "He comes across as a very professional, very determined, very dedicated police officer. He wants things to be done the right way."
Harris, 37, is a 17-year law enforcement veteran, having served as a corrections officer, an investigator for the Georgia Insurance Commissioner's Office and then with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. He did investigative work in the private sector, then joined the Alpharetta Police Department. He joined the Johns Creek Police Department when it launched in April.
Harris, a native of Toledo, Ohio, came to Georgia when he was 20, mainly, he says, to escape the snow. He knew he wanted to be a police officer from a young age, though now he wishes he had joined the Marine Corps.
"They're the best of the best," he said. "I feel like I lost out."
Harris said he received his sense of right and wrong, and his independent streak, from his father, a doctor. He has a brother who serves as a DeKalb County police detective. Another brother works in the computer department for a health care company.
"We taught him to get the facts straight, know the reality, and then don't be afraid to take a stand and don't be afraid to stand alone," said James Harris Sr., who lives in Roswell. "We're very proud of him."
The younger Harris, married with three children, describes himself as a regular church attendee. For fun, he practices martial arts, and he holds a third-degree black belt in shuri-ryu, an Okinawan form of karate.
"He's got a pretty good handle on right and wrong," Johns Creek Fire Marshal Chad McGibney said. "If there's a problem, he wants it corrected."
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