Staff file photo by Ben Benton / A new photo of 12th Judicial District Attorney General Mike TaylorThe director of the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force is on administrative leave as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probes allegations related to the seizure of drugs and money in Sequatchie County last year.
Cody Smith, director of the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force since April 2017, is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into a seizure operation in Sequatchie County in 2020. The 12th Judicial District serves Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Rhea and Sequatchie counties.
There are no criminal charges associated with the investigation, according to officials.
Smith is being represented by Pikeville, Tennessee, attorney Howard Upchurch.
"I have known Mr. Smith for a number of years," Upchurch said Monday in an email. "I have represented many clients on cases in which he was the charging officer. He has a very demanding job [like all law enforcement officers] but has served the citizens of our judicial district capably."
TBI officials declined to say anything about the probe and are leaving comment on the investigation to 12th Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor, who oversees the drug task force as the chairman of its board of directors.
"I placed him on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an investigation I requested by the TBI," Taylor said Monday. "It grows out of a search and seizure of drugs and money that happened last year in Sequatchie County that he participated in and there's an allegation that the drugs and money were not properly accounted for."
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Sequatchie County Sheriff Coy Swanger and Marion County Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett came to Taylor with concerns "about a particular case and the seizure of money and narcotics," Taylor said. That's when Taylor requested the state agency's assistance.
Meanwhile, Smith was directed last Friday to surrender his official vehicle and any property belonging to the task force, Taylor said.
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The district's task force consists of the director, who is full time and paid a salary, and three other officers who participate in task force operations but are employed by other agencies in the district, Taylor said.
Task force member and Marion County Sheriff's Office detective Chad Johnson will serve as interim director until the investigation is concluded, Taylor said.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.