Six deputies from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department have been sworn as special deputy U.S. marshals and form an Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) Unit. The ACE Unit is made up of Sergeant Wally Braden, Corporal Rick Coley, and deputies Charles Relford, Jason Leach, Shawn Williams, and Matt Forsyth. They will work part-time as needed with the Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service. Also pictured above at left is Chief Deputy Mark Lucas. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)
Six officers from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department have been sworn in as task force officers with the United States Marshals Service’s Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force, or SMFTF.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is the latest local law enforcement agency to become part of the specialized fugitive apprehension team, which is made up of the East Tennessee agencies listed at the end of this press release.
Task force officers are state and local police officers who receive special deputations with the Marshals Service, the press release said. While assigned to the SMFTF, these officers can exercise U.S. Marshals’ authorities, such as crossing jurisdictional lines.
Jimmy Fowler, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee, administered the oath of office to the deputies at the Marshals Service office in Knoxville.
“We are very excited about our new partnership with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department,” Fowler said in the press release. “Our communities are safer when local, state, and federal officers get to work together, and that is what the Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force is all about. The Task Force is made up of great officers from throughout East Tennessee. From Chattanooga to Bristol, these officers work together to ensure the safety of everyone by apprehending dangerous fugitives and reducing violent crime.” [Read more…]
