When he’s not outside working, James Carne is likely outside playing.

Patrol officer James Carne has been with the Sedona Police Department for approximately four years. He came to the Sedona department after working in Flagstaff as a detention officer.

“I answer calls for service, do traffic enforcement, pretty much general police work,” Carne said.

When he’s not out on the beat, Carne is out on a motorcycle. He’s also a fan of snowboarding. Carne became enamored with sport bikes a couple of years ago.

“I’m trying to get better at that,” Carne said. “I really enjoy that. I have a Honda CBR 1000. I’m also interested in the Harley-type, cruiser-type, motorcycles. I like to learn about everything. I’m not really into any one thing.”

Interacting with the people he meets in the community, Carne said, counts as one of the highlights of his job.

“I’m not from Sedona, but I find it a very beautiful and interesting place. I’m very happy to work in this town. I feel very lucky. The mix of people that come to this community is very interesting. I find that to be one of the greatest aspects to working here,” Carne said.

Carne invited anyone in the community to say hi to him when they see him out and about.

“I enjoy having a good talk and meeting new people,” Carne said.

Carne has wanted to work as a police officer since the fourth grade, when his thoughts first turned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“I was a little kid and wanted to do FBI. I kind of held on to that dream of wanting to do it, so I decided to go to Northern Arizona University for a degree in criminal justice. As I was wrapping up my degree there, I thought it would be a good idea to work for the jail and kind of get an idea if law enforcement was the way I wanted to do it. After working at the jail it just reinforced my idea that I wanted to be a police officer instead of being in the FBI,” Carne said.

Carne also works as a field training officer, working with new officers on their respective beats.

Sedona Police Department Cmdr. Ron Wheeler said he is proud of the work Carne has done since he began with the Sedona Police Department.

“He came to us a few years ago from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office where he had experience as a detention officer. That was invaluable training to introduce him to law enforcement and to dealing with people,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said Carne was chosen as a field training officer for his strong work ethic.

“I think the department is better off having him as one of our members,” Wheeler said.