TDOS Appoints Captain Cheryl Sanders to Knoxville District
Nashville, Tennessee --- Today, The Tennessee Department of Safety announced the appointment of Captain Cheryl Sanders as the new Captain over the Knoxville District.
A native of Oliver Springs in Roane County, Captain Sanders, 48, has served as Captain of the 12-county Chattanooga District since May of 2006. She was the first female promoted to Captain of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. During her two years overseeing the Chattanooga District, Captain Sanders has initiated the development of several highway safety programs, including Interdiction Plus, which have resulted in the arrests of several high-profile homicide and drug suspects.
In October 2007, Troopers stopped a motorist on I-75 in McMinn County, and further investigation led investigators to suspect that the occupants of the vehicle had been involved in a homicide in Bradley County. In February, suspect Jeffrey W. Hendrix received a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to second degree murder and aggravated arson. Also in February, THP District 2 investigators tracked down a tractor trailer driver suspected of hitting Trooper Charles Melhorn during a January 12 traffic stop on I-75. The driver was indicted on felony reckless endangerment and violating the Move Over law. In April of this year, Chattanooga District Troopers located a missing Michigan juvenile who had been part of an active Amber Alert. Utilizing cell tower signals, Troopers actively searched a 4-mile radius and located the suspect vehicle in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The subject of the Amber Alert was recovered and charges were placed against a suspect.
“After serving 23 years of my career with the Highway Patrol in the Knoxville area, I am very familiar with the Knoxville District and local law enforcement,” said Captain Sanders. “I welcome the opportunity to return to my roots and spend more time with my family as I serve in East Tennessee.”
Captain Sanders is credited with developing strong rapport with local law enforcement agencies throughout the Chattanooga area, assisting police and sheriff departments and with the Georgia State Police with saturation patrols and enforcement checkpoints. The partnerships include three years as THP supervisor for the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, working with the Manchester Police Department, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and festival promoters to effectively handle traffic control and security. Under her supervision, the Chattanooga District has provided 12-member Strike Team support to a number of incidents, including the Macon County tornadoes, the Grundy County deputy shooting, and the Hurricane Gustav evacuee shelters.
Commissioned as a Road Trooper in 1983, Sanders first worked in Knox County where she was also assigned to the CID Division in undercover narcotics enforcement from 1988 to 1991. From 1983 to 1996, her varied duties also included Accident Reconstruction, Executive Security Detail for District 1, and Drill Instructor for three cadet schools. Promoted to Sergeant in April 1996, Sanders served in the litter control program and as a Road Sergeant for Morgan and Roane counties until 2002. In January 2002, Sanders became the first female promoted to Lieutenant with the Tennessee Highway Patrol when she was promoted to Road Lieutenant over Loudon, Morgan and Roane counties. She served in that capacity until her promotion to Chattanooga District Captain in January 2006.
Captain Sanders is a November, 1997 graduate of the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command and graduated with an Associates degree in Police Science and Criminal Justice from Roane State Community College in 1983. Her wealth of law enforcement training also includes criminal investigation school at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy (TLETA), commercial vehicle enforcement training with North American Standard Level III, NFA Incident Command System training, and Marine Corps Leadership School. Sanders and her husband, Steve, have one daughter, age 18.
Sanders replaces Captain Ray Fletcher, who retired on June 27, 2008, after more than 32 years with the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Captain Cheryl Sanders