Sheriff Robert Arnold sends warrant officers to Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy and gets more help on the streets to make the community safer.
“Our officers previously were not trained on how to defend themselves properly,” Sheriff Arnold said. “They were trained while becoming certified at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy.”
Serving civil documents such as evicting residents from their home remains one of the most dangerous jobs at a sheriff’s office, a Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office supervisor said. Because of the danger, Sheriff Robert Arnold required Civil Warrants deputies to become certified law enforcement officers.
Because of the sagging economy, Civil Warrants deputies are evicting about three times as many residents from their homes as in previous years. Due to a shortage of manpower, usually only one officer checks the house to make sure no one is inside.
More Help On The Streets
By being certified law enforcement officers, the Civil Warrants deputies may now arrest suspects who threaten the other party in an order of protection, the lieutenant said. Also, if a Civil Warrants deputy finds marijuana or other illegal drugs during an eviction, the resident will be arrested.
Certified Civil Warrants deputies can serve criminal warrants, investigate traffic crashes, back up other deputies in their patrol zones and help detectives in the field. They conduct traffic stops.
“We’re more eyes on the road,” McBurney said. “By being certified, there are more officers out there watching the roads and coming to the aid of the public.”
Civil Warrants deputies follow court orders to evict residents from their homes, serve documents for garnishing wages and bank accounts and obtain personal property to help pay debts owed, explained Lt. Terry McBurney, supervisor for the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Civil Warrants division.
“It’s a big risk,” McBurney said. “Many officers are killed in the line of duty serving civil processes.”
Last Thursday, Stanislaus County Deputy Robert Paris, 53, was shot and killed while trying to serve an eviction notice in Modesto, California.
Rutherford County Deputy Katy Black served an order of protection on a man who was charged two months later with killing his girlfriend and shooting her mother in La Vergne.
McBurney and Deputies Michael Hoffman and Katy Black graduated from the state academy recently. Other Civil Warrants deputies already certified are Sergeant Whit Davis and Deputies Barry Jones and Nick Carter. Lynn Carroll serves as office manager and serves civil documents at the sheriff’s office. The officers serve about 1,700 civil documents each month.
“I wish we could get more officers in our unit and have more two-man teams to do the job,” McBurney said.
“I’ve put a levy on a horse,” McBurney said. “Basically anything you can think of, we’ve levied.”
Besides evictions, Civil Warrants deputies serve documents that summon people to court for child custody, divorce and child support cases. They also deliver subpoenas and show cause orders to explain why someone missed court. The job including garnishing wages and bank accounts along with collecting fines and court costs. Another challenge is issuing a writ of possession to obtain personal property to pay a debt.