MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The personal file of a Miami-Dade police officer arrested for lewd and lascivious acts involving a minor shows he had a positive history with the department with the exception of a few incidents.
Local 10 News obtained certificates of appreciation and hand-written thank you letters from people who live in the territory Sgt. James Edwards has served for the past two decades. Furthermore, Edwards earned outstandings during department reviews many of the years.
But Edwards did come under fire on more than one occasion. In 2013 he issued traffic tickets while off duty, he failed to write a report in a separate incident, and it appears he had some anger issues when he opened a door so forcefully, when upset with a boss, that it left a gaping hole in a wall.
But nothing in all of the pages in his file hints to what police claim one of their own was capable of – giving drugs and alcohol to two teenage boys, exposing them to porn, touching one of them, touching himself and asking for oral sex.
Edwards has been relieved of duty with pay until the state attorney's office files charges. He has been released from jail on house arrest.