Monterey Searching For Certified Police Officer

Monterey has begun searching for a new certified police officer in place of the town’s vacant detective position.

Interim Police Chief Chris Clayburn said detectives are the only ones trained to handle advanced investigation, interrogation, and paperwork needed for higher-level prosecutions. Clayburn said moving forward without a detective will require the police department to do a lot of work with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

“They have special agents that come out to agencies that don’t have detectives or investigators,” Clayburn said. “And that’s what they’ve historically always done, is helped do the interviewing and the investigation. Your local officers will be doing the charging and prosecution.”

Mayor Alex Garcia said it would be cheaper for the city to hire a certified officer as Clayburn requested instead of a detective. Garcia said the plan is to operate without a detective for one year to see how well the system works.

“If we need a detective, we can always send one of our officers to school and move him up,” Garcia said.

Garcia said if a new officer is hired, that officer would have a probationary period but would start with the normal certified officer pay rate. Garcia said he hopes to have the position filled as soon as the town is able to.

“We’ll put out the notice in the paper as soon as possible,” Garcia said. “And I don’t know what the timeline would be. I don’t know who’s going to apply. We usually put our positions out for two weeks.”

Clayburn said the department would still be short-staffed even with an additional member.

“We’re asking for this because we need a good foundation to work with,” Clayburn said. “And coverage, too, for the folks here in Monterey.”

Alderman Jamie Phillips said an additional officer is well justified based on the overtime the department has already accrued this year.