Addiction trips up former ‘Top Cop’

A one-time Nevada "Top Cop" found his addiction to painkillers spiraling out of control after he was severely injured in a wreck during a high-speed chase.

While serving as a Las Vegas police officer, James L. Breed drove to Kingman, Ariz., last year and passed about 40 false prescriptions for $24,400 in pain pills to several pharmacies, according to court records.

Breed, 40, was arrested in June on multiple charges of illegally buying narcotics. Five months later he resigned from the force, ending a 15-year career in which he earned the Metropolitan Police Department's Medal of Honor and the Top Cop award in 2005.

Breed was sentenced to four years' probation on March 31 in Mohave County Superior Court and must serve 500 hours of community service. Breed, who lives in the Las Vegas area, also must serve six months of house arrest or do an additional 350 hours of service.

A remorseful Breed sought to explain his actions in a pre-sentencing statement.

"There is no possible way ... that I can express my regret and shame," the former patrol officer wrote. "I apologize to the court, its officers and the people of Arizona."

Las Vegas police said they couldn't comment because Breed is no longer on the force.

In the written statement, Breed told of colliding with a suspect during a car chase in 2001, breaking his collar bone and right wrist. The injuries required surgery and 40-plus nerve injections, he said.

His tolerance to his medication grew over the years, he said, and he needed larger doses to numb the pain.

Still, he managed to do his job well enough to garner the Top Cop award. The National Association of Police Organizations chooses one to four winners from each state, based on exemplary work, and presents the awards in Washington, D.C.

Breed said he worried that the company supplying the pain pills was in peril because of nationwide lawsuits. He decided to stock up on the medication by photocopying prescriptions from doctors in Nevada and Arizona.

Kingman police arrested him June 12 while he was trying to pick up a bottle of pills using a forged prescription.

He confessed to having bought roxicodone and oxycontin unlawfully from several area drug stores, dating back six months.

"I knew I screwed up terribly but was relieved that it was over," Breed wrote.

Since resigning, Breed, a divorced father of two children, has become a union plumber. He told the court he makes $65,000 yearly.

In the pre-sentencing statement, a probation officer noted that Breed's injuries in the line of duty led to his addiction and unlawful actions.

"This does not excuse his actions," probation officer Jim Starnes said. "It is well-known throughout the police agencies that officers are held to a different standard of professionalism and honesty."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.