A memorial service will be held this week for a 39-year veteran of the George Washington University police department who died last month.
James Isom, the executive assistant police chief at George Washington, was the department’s second-highest-ranking officer. He died at his Washington home on Feb. 22. He was 64.
The university will hold a memorial service for Isom on campus on Thursday at the Marvin Center’s Theater. The service will take place from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
The cause of Isom’s death hasn’t been released.
He joined the GWU police department as a patrol officer in 1972, and worked his way up the ranks, serving as a corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and assistant director. Isom also served as the department’s interim chief from May to September 2010, after former Chief Dolores Stafford retired.
In a statement, university President Steven Knapp praised Isom’s long tenure at the school.
“I offer my heartfelt condolences to James Isom’s family and his fellow officers,” Knapp said. “James spent almost 50 years at George Washington as a student, athlete and member of GWPD. His legacy of service, commitment and hard work will live on in all those he trained and led.”
Isom’s career at George Washington began as an undergraduate student. Isom, of Chattanooga, Tenn., graduated in 1969 with a degree in international relations.
As an undergraduate, he played football and club rugby. He was one of the first black athletes at the school, the university said.
After he graduated, he joined the U.S. Army and worked for the military police, before joining the university’s force in 1972.
He is survived by a brother and two sisters.
