Pubdate: Sat, 07 Dec 2002 Source: Commercial Appeal (TN) Copyright: 2002 The Commercial Appeal Contact: http://www.gomemphis.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/95 Author: Mickie Anderson Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids) DEPUTY'S DEATH ENDS LIFE ETCHED WITH 'THAT SMILE' At age 33, George Selby seemed totally in his element. He was happy working as a narcotics deputy, was married and had two little girls he hoped to keep from dating until they turned 25. Selby's death Wednesday evening - he was shot through the door as deputies tried to serve a warrant - left family, schoolmates and officers reeling Thursday. It also left two small-time criminals in jail with pending first-degree murder charges, according to court records. Reginald Rome, 45, and Calvin Joe Williams, 42, of Memphis, were in the Shelby County Jail Thursday after receiving treatment for minor injuries. Both men have criminal records, though neither appears to have any major drug arrests. Williams has charges such as burglary and public intoxication that go back at least to 1991; Rome's rap sheet starts with a disorderly conduct charge from 1977 and includes a couple more recent drug-selling charges. Rome was shot in the left hand, sheriff's officials said. Both were bitten by a police dog unleashed in their Frayser home. The search warrant gave deputies permission to look in the house at 2433 Chattering Lane for drugs and cash, Chief Deputy Bill Oldham said. But before the dozen officers could get inside someone inside started shooting. Selby, standing on the porch - poised to be the first man in - was hit under the arm in the space not covered by his bulletproof vest. Although he was coherent and stable when an ambulance got him to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, the bullet from the 357 Magnum had done too much damage, Sheriff Mark Luttrell said. Remembering him Thursday, Selby's fellow officers and Skyview Academy classmates all pointed to his mischievous, 'I-just-got-away-with-something' grin. "He always had that smile, like 'You didn't catch me,' " said Chief Inspector David Wing, who was Selby's boss for two years on the narcotics squad. But Wing paid Selby the highest compliment one cop ever gives another: "He was just the kind of guy you'd want to go through the door with." Insp. Mike McEachran, who runs the department's special operations, years ago had Selby on the burglary, robbery and auto theft unit. Even for a young detective, McEachran said, Selby was aggressive and good at developing sources that helped solve crimes. Away from work, Selby had recently gotten back in touch with dozens of old friends from the Skyview Academy in Frayser, where he graduated in 1988. Some of those school friends had stayed in touch and were Selby's closest pals on the force: Leonard Rovery, Billy Speight and George Stauffer. The school closed, but graduates recently started a Web site that served to pull former students together. Selby's sense of humor was evident as he posted his interests: "My two girls, keeping boys away from my two girls, making sure my two girls don't date until they are 25, making sure my two girls become nuns." Activity on the Web site hit its high mark Thursday as graduates from around the country posted tributes and shared memories about Selby. Selby is related to Owen Selby, a motorcycle officer with the Memphis Police Department known as the dean of ticket-writers. As a young deputy, Selby unwittingly found his own notoriety. He was one of a handful of deputies who testified they gave $3,500 to a politically connected grocer later convicted for selling deputy jobs. The entry-level officers testified they were told the contributions were the way to get hired. And they wanted desperately to be lawmen, fellow officers said. "It's hard. We've got a lot of guys who are hurtin' right now," Wing said. "But we'll mourn and then we'll be glad to have known a guy like this." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom