Sheriff’s Office Welcomes 17 New Deputies

Seventeen new deputies completed eight weeks of intensive internal training to launch their careers at the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Chief Steve Spence congratulated the new deputies and presented them with their badges during a ceremony attended by their families and friends Wednesday.

Training Sgt. Sean Vinson thanked the families and friends for supporting the new deputies.

“We’re a family,” Vinson said. “You all are an extension of our family.”

The new recruits started their training by taking the oath of office and began the orientation by getting to know their fellow recruits, Vinson said.

Their classes include:

• Chemical weapons exposure.
• Firearms training.
• Rifle training.
• Defensive tactics to learn how to handle stressful situations.
• Crisis Intervention Training to de-escalate traumatic cases.
• Incident Command to managing emergencies.
• Legal review.
• Crash investigations.
• Traffic stops.
• Use of radar.
• Driving course.
• Real life scenarios of likely calls for service.
• Domestic violence response.
• Courtroom testimony.

Deputies who are already certified law enforcement officers will train a few weeks with Field Training Officers.

Deputies who are not certified will earn certification after graduating from the 12-week Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy.

After completing the academy, they will spend time training with the FTOs.

The Sheriff’s Office training is “pretty intense,” Vinson said. “We want them to come home every single night.”