Last November, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond unveiled his Hamilton County Sheriff’s Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit outfit managed by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga that gives the sheriff an opportunity to raise funds to purchase equipment, provide training and initiate programs not covered by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department’s taxpayer-funded budget.
So far Hammond, who says creating “a sustainable foundation” by the time he retires is a primary goal, has raised about $150,000. If a fundraising luncheon in November is successful, the sheriff plans to employ a dedicated fundraiser for the foundation to bring in even bigger bucks.
These foundations have become a common way for sheriff’s departments and police forces across the United States to improve skills and services at no additional cost to the public at large.
Naturally, there are concerns about favoritism that arise any time private dollars are donated at the request of a top law enforcement official – and this being Chattanooga, those concerns are amplified. Overall, however, sheriff’s foundations generally benefit both to law enforcement officials and the people they serve.
While the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Foundation may one day be a positive force for the county, one of the nifty new gadgets Sheriff Hammond plans to purchase with the foundation’s money is, if used improperly, a chilling threat to privacy and individual liberty.