Leflore County native James Payne Sr. says he entered law enforcement more than 30 years ago because he thought he could help his community.
“I decided that I was going to make a change in some things and make a difference — make the community a better and safer place for people to live,” said Payne, an investigator with the 4th Circuit District Attorney’s Office since 2006.
His son, James Payne Jr., inherited that instinct to serve, which he put to use in the Army and then law enforcement. He now is a lieutenant in the criminal investigation division of the Tunica County Sheriff’s Department.
James Jr. — who also uses the words “make a difference” to describe his approach to the job — said he likes what he does and likes that his father is accessible when he has questions.
“It gets busy; it’s a lot of work, too. I always call him if I need some help or something,” James Jr. said. “But I like it. It’s very rewarding.”
James Sr., 62, was born and raised in Itta Bena and graduated from Leflore County High School in 1978. He said he had no family history in law enforcement, although he did “play cowboys, sheriff and all that” as a boy.
However, “growing up in a rural area, you notice the crime rate around you and the things that were going on,” he recalled. “And in your mind, you think, ‘Well, that could’ve been handled different.’”
He completed a machine shop degree from Mississippi Delta Community College in 1981 and worked at Ferguson Machine for 10 years, but he still felt a pull toward law enforcement. So he began working for the Greenwood Police Department in 1991.
“I started out with the PD as part-time just to see if it was something I wanted to do,” he said. “And it really was. It was something that came naturally.”
First he was a reserve officer, and later he took on regular officer duties such as patrolling, making arrests and writing reports. He said there was a lot to learn, but Police Chief Ronnie White was a good mentor.
“When I first started, I thought each case was the same,” he said. “But then, after training, I learned that you have to treat each and every case individually.”
He also found being a police officer in the area where he had grown up could be difficult at times, but he stayed focused on his tasks.
“Most of the people that were committing crimes were people you knew,” he said. “So you had to separate: ‘It’s not personal; it’s the law. And you have to follow the law.’”
He joined the Mississippi Valley State University Police Department in 2000 at the request of that department’s chief, Rafus Davis, who had been his training officer with the Greenwood police. However, he found that in such a small area, there was little opportunity for the type of community service he wanted to do, although he did go through the police academy at MDCC during that time.
In 2001, when he heard the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department was hiring, he approached Sheriff Ricky Banks about the job, and Banks hired him. His work there included serving as a process server and courtroom deputy as well as a patrolman, and he learned more about the law while working with the judges.
One night, as he was leaving the courtroom after a trial, District Attorney Joyce Chiles asked whether he would be willing to work for her as a criminal investigator. He quickly said yes, but he found there was a lot more work involved in that job — investigating crime scenes, finding and transporting witnesses, taking part in stakeouts and undercover work and interviewing officers, defendants and victims. He also looks at case files to see whether more investigation is needed.
He said it’s rewarding to be “the voice that speaks for the victim.”
“To see that smile on their face and (hear them) say ‘Thank you’ — that’ll make you get up the next day and say, ‘OK, I can do this over again,’” he said.
James Payne Jr., 33, said he became interested in law enforcement after serving in the military.
After graduating from Greenwood High School in 2007 and spending a year at Northwest Mississippi Community College, he joined the Army, thinking he would be able to stay in the area. But shortly after basic training, he was sent to Iraq, where he served for about a year in convoy security as a driver and gunner.
He said joining the military was a spur-of-the-moment decision, “against my folks’ wishes.”
“I went ballistic, man,” James Sr. said, laughing. “I didn’t want him to go to Iraq. He tried to sign up for the military when he was in high school, and he needed my signature, but I wouldn’t give it. ... Being my only son, I did not want him to go. But when he got of age, he was able to sign up himself.”
James Jr. had thought the Army would be like it is in movies, but he found that there were rules of engagement to follow — and he learned other skills, too.
“Coming from being an only child, it taught me a lot over there,” he said. “Taught me how to be more social, more independent, camaraderie with my fellow battle buddies and how to manage money a little bit also.”
He earned commendation medals for his work, among other achievements. “We did like 40 successful missions, and never been hit,” he said. “So that was pretty good.”
His father said it was a long year while his son was overseas. But he felt good about James Jr.’s choice of career after he returned home and thought he would do well in law enforcement.
“I know he has the same thoughts I have about making an impact on the community, making it a safer place for people to live — and I knew he would be great at that job,” he said. “And I’m proud of him.”
Plus, he added with a laugh, “He’s a little smarter than I am.”
James Jr. entered MVSU, where he studied criminal justice and played tight end on the football team, before leaving his senior year to enter the police academy.
Since then, he has worked for the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department and the Grenada and MVSU police departments. He joined the Tunica County Sheriff’s Department in 2020.
After his initial job as a Leflore County deputy, he wanted to get a taste of working for a police department to see how the two compared. That led him to Grenada, where he ran traffic enforcement and wrote tickets. He decided he preferred working for a sheriff, partly because he felt sheriff’s offices in general are more respected.
After a short time as a deputy on patrol in Tunica County, he is now part of a team investigating major felonies. “One day we’ll be working on a homicide; the next day, we’ll be working on a white-collar crime,” he said. “So I’ve learned a lot in a short time.”
And although much of his work is in the office, he works DUI details on some Saturday nights to “scratch that itch” to be on the street.
In general, he tries to take things day by day, and he said his father has been a big help during that process. He estimated that he calls him “a couple of times a week.”
The two men do hang out from time to time, whether it’s to talk about work or other things. Each Sunday, James Jr. tries to visit his father and his mother, Glenda Porter of Greenwood, who are divorced but still have a good relationship — and if he’s not working Saturday, he tries to spend that day in Greenwood, too.
James Sr. said he likes to spend his spare time unwinding on a beach or going to the movies. He also serves as a deacon at Providence Missionary Baptist Church, and he said his faith has guided his law enforcement work.
“I think about, when I’m doing something, ‘Is this the right thing to do?’” he said. “Because I wouldn’t want God to hold it against me. So you have to be fair when you’re in a position of authority. You have to be just.”
James Jr., who supervises deputies, said the job requires a lot of responsibility, but it comes naturally to him: “I feel like I’m a natural leader.”
His father agreed, saying he has watched his son grow over the years and believes his service in Iraq showed what he can do.
“He’s a smart young man; always has been,” he said. “So I just really believes that he will be successful at anything he sets his mind to.”
