Tim Gobble may be new Hamilton County jail chief

Tim Gobble

Sheriff Jim Hammond.

Sheriff Jim Hammond may tap East Ridge's most recent former city manager to serve as his interim jail chief.

Hammond said Thursday he has been talking with Tim Gobble, who resigned from his post as East Ridge's chief executive in February, about replacing Deputy Chief of Corrections Ron Parson. Parson will be demoted to captain's rank on or before May 1 after an internal affairs investigation released Wednesday reported he made numerous offensive comments to officers.

Hammond met with Gobble on Thursday, and the sheriff said he spoke with Gobble about the deputy chief position -- which Gobble held immediately before taking the job with East Ridge in spring 2011.

"I'm going to open [the position] up. I want to cast a wide net, at least through the Southeast," Hammond said. "But that doesn't mean I won't put someone in as interim, and he may be the individual for that."

Gobble could not be reached late Thursday for comment.

Gobble has a history in public service, and specifically law enforcement.

Before coming to Hamilton County, he was sheriff of Bradley County, which he left in 2010 to make an unsuccessful run for Tennessee's 3rd District congressional seat.

Before that, he had been a U.S. Secret Service agent and a councilman in Cleveland, Tenn.

Gobble left East Ridge amid controversies concerning his hiring of a 19-year-old friend from church, disciplining of the city's court clerks over a case involving his daughter and posting argumentative comments toward residents on Facebook.

Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6481.