DETECTIVE JAMES E. RILEY

BADGE 857, ID 1806

SDPD 11/15/1968 - 12/13/1997

07/16/1944 - 09/09/2021

THE THIN BLUE LINE

James Edward Riley, age 77, died on September 9th, 2021, after a long struggle to recover from a series of brain strokes that began four years ago.

Mr. Riley is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 36 years, Mary Helen, three children: Little Jim, James Michael, Johnquiesha and 5 Stepchildren James, Michael, Delores, Gary, and Samuel. He also had a host of grandchildren, step-grand, and step-great-grandchildren.

James was a veteran of the Vietnam War.

In 1964, James' desire was to join the US Army to explore his love of maps. However, at the time, they would not allow him to join because his older brother, Joseph Jr. was already enlisted there.

Because of that denial, he joined the United States Navy. In four years of service, he reached the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class serving as a Storekeeper and working cross-functionally in the Photography department.

In 1968, he received an honorable discharge from the Navy. For his conduct, his superiors allowed him to leave ten days before his contracted end date. He had applied for and been accepted to join the upcoming class at the San Diego Police Academy.

At the end of twenty-nine years of service, he retired in 1997 as a Detective working exclusively in the Juvenile Services Division. James’s experience in both the military and police department informed many aspects of his life.

As he did in his work, he personally carried himself with a stern and ofttimes impenetrable demeanor. While it was true that he kept a checklist of every person that he felt did wrong; his closest confidants also know that he maintained an equally long list of people he helped through his lifetime commitment to public service and the greater good. This and other aspects... his smile, confidence, quick wit, and consistency will be remembered fondly. To say, "You know how Jim was..." is possible and true because he was always the same. He will be missed.

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