Chief Mitchell became the first Chief of Police in a newly formed St. Petersburg, incorporated in 1903. The city's population was 1,600, and a new charter provided for a Chief of Police rather than a town marshal. James Mitchell was appointed the first Chief for a force that included four other officers. His duties included serving as jailer for the new jail at 345 First Avenue South, where it remained until 1952. His salary was $100 a month.
Before this role, he served as a rail conductor on the Atlantic Coast Line between Tampa and Jacksonville. He lived in St. Petersburg through his ten-year railroad career, retired, and joined the St. Petersburg Police Department in 1903. He then became a Captain, or Special Deputy, for Hillsborough County, and later the very first Chief of Police.
On Christmas Day, Chief Mitchell arrested a local man for disorderly conduct behind a saloon on Central Avenue between Second and Third Street. While escorting his prisoner to jail, Mitchell was attacked from behind with a butcher knife by a second man. Though mortally wounded, he was able to return fire before he fell.
Chief Mitchell was survived by his wife, Cornelia, his daughter, Dora, and his three sons, James, Robert and Karl. His funeral took place at his home on Wednesday, December 27, and was largely attended. The Tampa Tribune reported that “sincere expressions of grief at this tragic death were everywhere heard.” He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
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