• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

New federal designation means more law enforcement funding, full-time ATF agent

Posted at 10:24 am December 29, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Anderson-County-High-Intensity-Drug-Trafficking-Area-Press-Conference-Dec-17-2019
A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new federal designation for Anderson County will mean more federal funding for the county’s drug and violent crime task force and a full-time agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Anderson County is now a high-intensity drug trafficking area, or HIDTA. That designation came from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It occurred in September and will go into effect January 1.

As part of a two-part announcement this month, law enforcement officials said the White House also selected the county’s task force, the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, as an Appalachia HIDTA, or AHIDTA. It’s the only locally led drug task force in Tennessee, according to Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. The county’s Crime Task Force, or CTF, is led by Director Simon Byrne.

“No other drug task force in Tennessee has been awarded an AHIDTA grant,” Clark said. “I am very proud of our leadership team for thinking outside of the box and in looking for smart ways to make our communities safer as well as be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. We are more excited than we can convey, but in short believe that this development has the potential to be transformative as to what we are able to do in Anderson County to protect and serve our communities.”

The county will receive $132,500 in grant funding for the task force. That money will be used for undercover operations, overtime, travel, training, and equipment, officials said during the December 17 announcement.

“This was a big accomplishment for Anderson County and our law enforcement partners,” said J. Douglas Overbey, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Advertisement

Some equipment will include computers and furniture, but some equipment, which could be covert, can’t be described, Clark said.

If the task force performs well, the HIDTA designation and funding will continue, Overbey said.

He said that only 13 counties were designated this year of all the applications that were received from across the country, and three were from Appalachia.

The ATF agent will work full-time with the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force at an undisclosed location in Anderson County, and Clark said the Crime Task Force will be able to work with the ATF daily.

“We’re very happy to be a partner in this,” said Frank A. Haera, assistant special agent in charge of the ATF Nashville Field Division.

Clark said the Crime Task Force agents will have access to ATF guidance and criminal intelligence resources.

“Being part of the AHIDTA organization means that there are criminal intelligence specialists, IT (information technology) specialists, and other human resources at the AHIDTA headquarters in Kentucky that will be supporting our law enforcement efforts,” Clark said. “It means that there will be access to AHIDTA covert equipment. It means that there will be specialized AHIDTA training for our agents. It also means that the Seventh Crime Task Force joins a network of HIDTA task forces and agents that may assist one another in criminal investigations throughout the country.”

Advertisement

Clark said the designations announced this month were the result of a two-year effort by the Anderson County law enforcement command staff. The HIDTA designation was the result of applications submitted by the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force.

“Our application was based principally upon the location of I-75 in Anderson County and the demonstrated success of the Seventh Crime Task Force in past narcotics-fighting operations,” Clark said.

Among the success stories cited by Clark are a drug case that included an overseas apprehension. The U.S. Department of Justice wrote about the drug crisis work of the CTF in June.

Law enforcement officers expect that the new HIDTA designation and the partnerships it creates will make Anderson County a better and safer place to live, Clark said.

During the HIDTA announcement this month, law enforcement officers said I-75 is a major north-south trafficking corridor that stretches from Detroit to Atlanta, and there are connections to cartels south of the border, including for the delivery and sale of methamphetamine. Other drugs of concern on the I-75 corridor are cocaine and heroin.

The Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force was organized in Anderson County in 2008, and it typically investigates narcotics, violent, and complex crimes. It is staffed by officers assigned by member agencies, which include the Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s Office, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, ATF, Clinton Police Department, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oliver Springs Police Department, and Rocky Top Police Department.

Bryne said the Crime Task Force, which is governed by a board of directors, has seven full-time narcotics investigators from three agencies, and several criminal investigators have been assigned.

HIDTA is a federal program created in 1988 to match funding and other resources with high-intensity drug trafficking areas, and the grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Most of the counties in the metropolitan Knoxville area are HIDTA counties.

The HIDTA program is managed by regional headquarters throughout the United States. The Appalachia HIDTA covers Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The ATF, Overbey, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation endorsed the application to the Appalachia HIDTA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was also a joint applicant, Clark said.

He gave credit to Lieutenant Danielle Alexander of the Clinton Police Department, who played a major role in preparing the most recent AHIDTA application; to Clinton Police Chief Vaughn Becker, who led the 2019 application effort; and to former Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough, who was instrumental in moving the county to apply for and become a locally led AHIDTA task force. The ATF and Overbey were supportive during the two-year application process, and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and Representative Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans, endorsed the application once it reached the White House, Clark said.

Clark said there are FBI and DEA task forces in Knoxville.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected].

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2019 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Clinton, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, Police, Police and Fire, Slider, Tennessee, U.S. Tagged With: AHIDTA, Anderson County, Appalachia HIDTA, ATF, Clinton Police Department, CTF, Dave Clark, Frank A. Haera, HIDTA, high-intensity drug trafficking area, J. Douglas Overbey, Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force, Simon Byrne, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, White House, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

Advertisements

 



Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Government News

Anderson County Courthouse

Anderson County government offices closed Monday, Tuesday

Anderson County government offices will be closed Monday and Tuesday, July 3-4, to observe Independence Day. The offices will re-open at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, July 5, a press release said. The Anderson County … [Read More...]

Fireworks show, music on July 4

Oak Ridge's annual fireworks show is scheduled to being at dark Tuesday, around 9:45 p.m. on Independence Day, July 4. There will be music before the show. The celebration, which is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, … [Read More...]

Library announces check-out changes

Ten days after celebrating renovations, the Oak Ridge Public Library has announced changes to its check-out procedures and policies that take effect on Saturday, July 1. Among the changes: The City of Oak Ridge … [Read More...]

USA Cycling Time Trial National Championships on Thursday

Oak Ridge Traffic Impacts Oak Ridge will host its fifth annual USA Cycling Individual Time Trial National Championships on Thursday, June 22. Elite cyclists nationwide will converge on the city, showcasing their skill … [Read More...]

Oak Ridgers celebrate library renovations

A standing-room-only crowd attended the grand re-opening celebration of renovations to the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library on Tuesday. The renovations include a brand-new Children’s Room and bathrooms that … [Read More...]

More Government

More Police and Fire News

County sees increase in infant deaths due to unsafe sleeping practices

Anderson County Emergency Medical Services, County Mayor Terry Frank, and the chief medical examiner for both Knox and Anderson Counties are all urging the community—particularly parents and grandparents of children … [Read More...]

Briceville Fire Department celebrates new station

The Briceville Volunteer Fire Department celebrated its new fire station with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. The ceremony included local residents and federal, state, and county officials, a press release … [Read More...]

Officers searching for suspect in fatal shooting

Officers are searching in Virginia for a suspect in a fatal shooting in Anderson County on Tuesday. The shooting was reported on Moores Gap Road in Heiskell, east of Clinton near Interstate 75, according to the … [Read More...]

DOE conducting controlled burns on Oak Ridge Reservation

The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation through mid-April, weather permitting. People may see smoke from this activity. However, smoke in Oak Ridge … [Read More...]

Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center

A new fire station and emergency operations center at the Y-12 National Security Complex will replace "severely outdated" buildings that were constructed in the 1940s, about eight decades ago. The new buildings will … [Read More...]

More Police and Fire

Recent Posts

  • SNS on hiatus for upgrade
  • County sees increase in infant deaths due to unsafe sleeping practices
  • ASAP of Anderson welcomes new executive director
  • Briceville Fire Department celebrates new station
  • Officers searching for suspect in fatal shooting
  • Oak Ridge to host movie premiere of ‘Oppenheimer’
  • Oak Ridge Schools to host panel discussion, documentary screening for ‘Oppenheimer’
  • Sam Bush to headline Summer Sessions concert
  • Anderson County government offices closed Monday, Tuesday
  • Oak Ridge Community Band performs on Independence Day

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today