Cookeville Police Set To Receive Over $50k in Grants

The Cookeville Police Department will receive more than $50,000 through three separate grants to fund various programs and equipment.

Chief Randy Evans said $20,000 will be used while crews work overtime during special safety campaigns.

“We might utilize that money that the state might be participating in such as Hands Across the Border… Click It or Ticket, and all those other campaigns,” Evans said. “That helps us pay for some overtime to put some extra resources on the street for those types of campaigns.”

Evans said just over $7,500 of that funding will go to the TEST Club at Cookeville High School to help promote traffic safety.

“That money specifically goes to the TEST Club at the high school which is a club that we helped start some years ago and still help facilitate,” Evans said. “That money goes to that program to fund their activities and assist in their traffic safety message. I think it also helps pays for travel and some conference fees for some of the students.”

A third grant valued at $25,000, known as the Cookeville Safe Streets grant, will help contribute towards officers patrolling city streets while also helping to purchase new equipment such as radars and computers.

Cookeville City Council voted to accept the grants during Thursday’s meeting.