East Ridge Middle and East Ridge High School without School Resource Officers

On Monday, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond offered an update regarding the temporary utilization of School Resource Officers at the Silverdale Detention Center.

During a press conference, Sheriff Hammond reiterated the importance of our SROs and announced that as of today, 10 SROs have returned to their respective schools and 14 remain at the Silverdale Detention Center. 

When asked about the status of school resource officers in East Ridge, a spokesman for the sheriff’s department said the department would not announce what schools do or do not have SROs due to “operational security.”

In May of last year, East Ridge Police Department Cpl. Hal Duncan was pulled from his assignment as SRO at East Ridge Middle School by City Manager Chris Dorsey, records show. No ERPD officer was assigned to replace him. 

ERPD Chief Stan Allen said he did not know if the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has an SRO at East Ridge High School.

A teacher at East Ridge High School told East Ridge News Online, Monday morning, that there is not an SRO currently assigned to the school.

Sheriff Hammond also announced that two SROs have been hired from other law enforcement agencies and will begin the field training process (8 weeks) as well as other specialized/SRO specific training in the very near future.

“As I have noted several times in previous press conferences and interviews, we are in new and uncharted territory when it comes to public safety employment.  The HCSO, like so many law enforcement agencies across our nation, is having an extremely tough time recruiting qualified people who meet the high standards necessary to become a member of the Sheriff’s Office,” stated Sheriff Jim Hammond.  “Our agency has strict professional standards and legal requirements that must be met for employment and finding individuals who can meet them is very difficult, especially given the national sentiment towards law enforcement and the dangers they face on a daily basis.”

As more personnel are hired at Silverdale, more SRO’s will return to their respective schools. The HCSO enthusiastically welcomes anyone who is interested in working for our agency to visit our website at www.hcsheriff.gov or call our Human Resources Division at 423-209-7000 to find out more information regarding employment opportunities.