James McFee (1945-1984) was an American policeman who served on the Philadelphia Police Department Narcotics Division during the 1970s and 1980s.
Biography[]
James McFee was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1945 to an African-American family, and he became an officer of the Philadelphia Police Department. In 1976, he created the "Another Way" program with state grants, opening three recreational centers in lower-income neighborhoods of South Philadelphia to provide a variety of resources (such as softball teams, hiking and canoeing trips into the countryside, and even classes in break dancing) for underprivileged teenagers residing in the area. For providing underprivileged teenagers with enjoyable alternatives to youth gang activities, McFee was awarded the annual "Edward L. Wesley Award" by the City Council. In 1980, he and the Narcotics Division launched a raid which confiscated 550 gallons of expensive chemicals used to make black-market amphetamines (worth $22 million), but McFee and Chief of Police Paul Schaeffer ensured that the seizure was never recorded, and the two men secretly sold the drugs on the streets to enrich themselves.
Downfall[]
McFee in 1984
In 1984, McFee murdered an undercover policeman in a bathroom at 30th Street Station to cover up his drug trafficking operation, but he was spotted by the Amish boy Samuel Lapp, who identified McFee as the perpetrator to Captain John Book after noticing a newspaper clipping of McFee in a trophy case at the police station. Book told Schaeffer of McFee's culpability, unaware that Schaeffer and McFee were partners in crime, so Schaeffer tipped off McFee, who gravely wounded Book in a shooting in the parking garage. Book managed to escape and bring Samuel and his mother Rachel Lapp back to their home in Lancaster, where the Amish community sheltered him as he recovered; in turn, Book protected Samuel, who, as the witness to McFee's murder of the undercover policeman, would likely be targeted by the corrupt policemen. After murdering Book's partner Elton Carter, Schaeffer, McFee, and Sergeant Leon Ferguson tracked Book down to Lancaster, but Book managed to kill Ferguson by luring him into a silo and drowning him in corn before stealing his shotgun and blasting McFee in the chest as McFee searched for his dead partner. McFee died instantly, and Schaeffer was arrested by Book after the Amish community confronted him for his crimes.