Deputy Chief Ron Parson has been named to oversee the Hamilton County Jail.A deputy chief who had a jailer complete college course work for him last year will now oversee the Hamilton County Jail and courthouse security, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
“When Chief Hart left I was appointed interim chief of corrections, so this was a natural step in my career that I considered,” Deputy Chief Ron Parson, now supervisor of the uniform division, wrote in an internal email to colleagues. “This is an assignment that I take on with great anticipation and responsibility and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
The new title comes a week after the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported on internal affairs records showing that Parson had Corrections Deputy Ryan Epperson complete a paper for him when he was attending the Southeastern Command and Leadership Academy through the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga,
Parson never was disciplined, and Epperson still is employed at the jail, officials said.
But Sam Walker, a national expert on police accountability and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the move might not be a promotion.