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JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A retired Jacksonville police officer of nearly seven decades has died.
Lieutenant James XY Brown retired from the Jacksonville Police Department in December of 2025 at 98 years old. Brown spent 68 years serving the community.
Brown was known to be the oldest police officer in the department and is thought to be the oldest serving officer in the entire United States.
Brown started as a volunteer with the department in 1957 while working as a truck driver at Camp Lejeune. Brown spent 14 years as a reservist and then became a school crossing guard in 1986.
For decades, Officer XY Brown was the school crossing guard at Northwoods Elementary School on Henderson Drive.
Michael Yaniero, a member of Jacksonville City Council, remembered Brown on a social media post, saying, “Lt . Brown served the Jacksonville community with unwavering dedication, courage, and compassion. Known for their integrity and steady presence, Lt. Brown touched countless lives through everyday acts of service that often went unseen but never unappreciated. His commitment to protecting others and their kindness toward those in need will be remembered always. Jacksonville is safer, stronger, and better because of Officer Brown’s life and work. His legacy lives on in the community that he served so faithfully.”
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