SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. - Police Chief Robert "Bobby" Simpson has worked to overhaul the South Pittsburg Police Department since he was hired in February.
At the June meeting of the South Pittsburg City Commission, Simpson proposed two amendments to the town's police manual and a new rule requiring newly hired officers to stay with the department for at least two years.
The board voted unanimously for all three measures.
The amendments to the manual outline procedures for handling crime scenes and how to deal with missing persons or abducted child cases.
Simpson said there was nothing in the current manual regarding either of those situations.
"We've had a couple of incidents where I would have rather seen the investigation be a little bit more detailed, and this would have been helpful to have at those times," he said. "It's just that the officers weren't trained in that, so we're doing this now and trying to do a better job."
An Alzheimer's patient went missing overnight in South Pittsburg recently before being found in a nearby alley the next morning.
"There was no policy set up in how you handle that, who you call out, when do you call people out," Simpson said.
Resolution 957 requires all new officers who are hired and are not already certified to sign an agreement to work for the city for two years after obtaining that certification.
The board approved the measure after the Marion County Sheriff's Department hired away three of South Pittsburg's officers in the last two weeks.
"If they voluntarily leave during that two-year period, they will repay, on a prorated basis, all of the costs that the city has incurred for the training," City Attorney Billy Gouger said.
The guideline is permissible under state law and already is used by most municipalities in Tennessee, he said.
"By the time you pay wages, the tuition for the academy, travel expenses and all of that, you have about $11,000 invested in getting an officer certified," Gouger said. "It's a sizable investment."
He said the policy "makes it a lot more palatable" for the city to let an officer take a job with another agency if it will get that investment back.
The policy will go in effect immediately, officials said.
The board also voted unanimously to hire Josh Chance, Josh Winters and Jeremy Zimmerman as new officers, but Chance and Winters will have to complete training at the police academy before they can take the job.
South Pittsburg still has one vacancy on its police department, and Mayor Jane Dawkins said the process of filling that job "goes on."
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.