Kinard Had Passion For Law Enforcement

EVERETT - Ten years ago, James Kinard's family tried unsuccessfully to talk him out of a career in law enforcement. Seven years ago, after he was shot in the hip while on duty, they tried again.

Late Monday night, the veteran Snohomish County sheriff's sergeant was shot and killed outside a Cathcart home after responding to a 911 call.

"None of us wanted Jim to become a police officer . . ." said Kathy McArthur of Snohomish, Kinard's older sister. "After he was shot in 1987, I tried to talk to him. I said, `Look you've got Kyle (his son), you need to be around.' "

But Kinard, 34, was passionate about law enforcement and shrugged off the danger. "He just said it was the work he loved. He was very devoted," McArthur said.

Snohomish County Sheriff Jim Scharf said Kinard liked working with and helping people, and was attracted by the excitement. Despite their boss-employee professional relationship, they were good friends and neighbors in Marysville.

When he was shot in the hip while responding to a domestic disturbance call, Kinard treated the injury as an inconvenience. "He just wanted to heal and get back, which he did," Scharf recalled.

Kinard faced another tough situation when he was involved in a SWAT team raid at an Everett home in March 1992. During that ill-fated search for suspects in an armored-car robbery, Robin Pratt was accidentally shot and killed by another deputy.

"Kinard came back and cried like a baby for the loss of life and for the feelings of the other officers," Scharf said.

With an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Washington, Kinard did not appear headed for a law-enforcement career. But a degree-related job just after college helped him make his career choice.

"He got a desk job . . . and he hated it," McArthur said.

She said law enforcement was more in keeping with Kinard's active lifestyle. In high school, he worked for a diving shop and taught downhill skiing.

Kinard's older brother is a teacher at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and his father is an Everett surgeon.

In his 10 years as a deputy for the sheriff's department, Kinard went from a patrol officer to a dog handler, a SWAT team leader and, in 1991, a sergeant.

The department's K-9 unit was his passion, and he fought hard to revive the unit after it was eliminated last year for budgetary reasons. The unit is scheduled to be restored in January, Scharf said.

"He would have been delighted to know that. I wish he could have known before he died," McArthur said.

When not working, Kinard indulged his passion for sports and for his 5-year-old son, Kyle. On Monday, Kinard took Kyle golfing and allowed him to play for the first time. "Kyle was really pumped about that," McArthur said.

Kinard's funeral is set for 1 p.m. Friday at Naval Station Everett, the only indoor facility large enough to hold the expected crowd of about 1,500, Scharf said. Officers from throughout the state, Oregon and British Columbia are expected.