Volume #2, Issue #5
WELCOME TO THE NEWSLETTER
SHOWCASED POLICE STATIONS
FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE
LINK: CLICK ON STATION NAME
- Agency / Formed: Cocke County Sheriff’s Office / 1797
- Sheriff: C.J. Ball
- Type / Category / Size: Sheriff’s Office / Town / Small
- Address / Telephone: 111 Court Avenue / 423-623-6004
- Website: https://www.cockecountysheriff.com
- Sworn Officers: 20 Patrol Officers / Admin & Jail 75 Employees
- Jurisdiction Population: 36,515
- Jurisdiction Size: 443 Square Miles
- Interesting Fact: Kiffen Rockwell, Cocke County resident, was the first American pilot in World War 1 to shoot down an enemy plane
- Picture Taken By: policestationpictures.com
- Agency: Franklin Police Department
- Chief of Police: Deborah Faulkner, Since 2014
- Type / Category / Size: Police Department / City / Small
- Address / Telephone: 900 Columbia Avenue 615-794-2513
- Website: https://www.franklintn.gov/government/departments-k-z/police
- Sworn Officers: 135 ( Estimated )
- Jurisdiction Population: 86,100
- Jurisdiction Size: 44.7 Square Miles
- Interesting Fact: In 1992 Destiny Hope Cyrus (aka “Miley”) was born in Franklin
- Picture Taken By: policestationpictures.com
- Agency / Formed: Brentwood Police Department / 1971
- Chief: Richard Hickey
- Type / Category / Size: Police Department / Town / Small
- Address / Telephone: New Location – 910 Heritage Way
- Website: https://www.brentwoodtn.gov/departments/brentwood-police-department
- Sworn Officers: 70 (Authorized )
- Jurisdiction Population: 45,450
- Jurisdiction Size: 42 Square Miles
- Interesting Fact: “Historical” Picture – New Headquarters Facility Opened 2021
- Picture Taken By: policestationpictures.com
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> Judicial
Tennessees Supreme Court Decision: State of Tennessee v. Dash Shackleford; Court Case Number E2020-01712-SC-R11-CD; Appeal of Criminal Court of Appeals Reversal of Lower Court Conviction of Gang Related Activity
From Court Records: “This appeal concerns the criminal gang-enhancement statute, Tennessee Code Annotated
section 40-35-121, and specifically what is required in an indictment to sufficiently plead and provide notice under the statute. Dashun Shackleford (“Defendant”) was arrested for aggravated robbery as to four individuals in September 2016, along with his friend and fellow gang member, Jalon Copeland. Defendant’s indictment contained twenty counts:
four alternative counts each of aggravated robbery against four victims and four corresponding counts of criminal gang offense enhancement. The gang-enhancement statute requires the State to give notice in separate counts of the indictment of the enhancement applicable under the statute. The indictment also alleged that Defendant was a “Crips” gang member and listed the convictions of fifteen alleged fellow Crips members to prove Defendant’s gang had a “pattern of criminal gang activity,” as also required by the gang-enhancement statute. A Knox County jury convicted Defendant as charged.
The trial court merged the aggravated robbery convictions into four counts and imposed a total effective sentence of twenty years to be served at eighty-five percent. In this case, the gang- enhancement conviction increased Defendant’s aggravated robbery convictions from Class B felonies to Class A felonies. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the
evidence at trial was insufficient to support his gang-enhancement conviction. The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed, taking particular issue with the allegation in the indictment that Defendant and the other gang members listed therein were plain Crips. In the gang-enhancement phase of trial, the proof established that the majority of the gang members listed in the indictment, including Defendant, were members of several different subsets of the Crips gang, with only one of the listed men identified as a plain Crip.
The intermediate court concluded that the State failed to prove that Defendant’s subset gang had engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity and failed to comply with the notice requirements of the gang-enhancement statute. In doing so, the court also, sua sponte, determined that a fatal variance existed between the indictment and proof at trial. The Court of Criminal Appeals, therefore, reverted Defendant’s aggravated robbery convictions to a classification lower in the absence of the gang enhancement.
After review, we conclude that the Court of Criminal Appeals erred in its decision. The gang-enhancement statute is worded broadly and does not require the State to specify in the indictment a criminal defendant’s gang subset nor that the defendant is in the same gang subset as the individuals whose criminal activity establishes the gang’s “pattern of criminal gang activity.” Defendant waived all other issues by failing to properly raise them before the trial court or on appeal. Therefore, the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals is reversed and the trial court’s judgments are reinstated.”
> Legislative
House Bill 1620 & Senate Bill 1645 – DRONES Continued To Be Used
BILL SUMMARY from State Senate/House Website
Present law provides that, if a drone is used in compliance with federal aviation rules, then it can be used without a search warrant or warrant exception to do the following:
(1) Provide for aerial coverage of public or private property with the consent of the private property owner when used for providing or enhancing security for an event open to the public;
(2) Provide aerial coverage in case of natural disasters during a state of emergency; or
(3) Investigate the scene of a crime that is occurring or has occurred.
Additionally, in present law, any data obtained by the use of the drone must:
(1) Be deleted within 15 days unless the data obtained is directly relevant to the lawful reason the drone was used for or to an investigation or criminal prosecution;
(2) Not be admissible as evidence in a criminal prosecution if it was obtained unlawfully; and
(3) Not be used as probable cause to obtain a search or arrest warrant or reasonable suspicion to detain a person or vehicle if the data was obtained unlawfully.
In present law, the above provisions would terminate July 1, 2024; however, this bill removes this termination date.
> Law Enforcement
Tennessee Law Enforcement Reform Partnership: Findings and Outcomes, dated September 20, 2020
Introduction From Findings
On July 2, 2020, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced a law enforcement reform partnership initiative with the following objectives:
–Review and update Use of Force and Duty to Intervene Policies
– Improve information sharing
– Increase training for state, county, and local law enforcement officials
The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, members of the General Assembly, the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association were tasked with enhancing policies, improving information sharing, and increasing officer training. Governor Lee established a 60-day deadline to produce findings and outcomes.
The following pages detail how the partnering agencies, legislators, and stakeholders reviewed Governor Lee’s directives and created strategic outcomes to improve policies, information sharing, and training. These findings and outcomes are presented to ensure law enforcement agencies across Tennessee are consistently meeting the expectations and reflecting the values of our state and the communities they serve.