Department of Safety & Homeland Security Promotes 14 Employees
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 | 04:56am
NASHVILLE --- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security officials recognized 14 employees for recent promotions in a special ceremony held at the department’s Training Center in Nashville on Tuesday.
Rank advancements were presented to the following individuals:
James Hutcherson has been promoted to Captain of the THP Nashville District. Prior to serving as Captain, Hutcherson held the position of Administrative Lieutenant for District 3 (Nashville). He began his career with the department as a Communications Dispatcher in 1983 and remained in that post for nearly three years. Hutcherson became a State Trooper in January of 1986, holding assignments in Williamson and Dickson counties, as well as the Research and Planning Division. In 1997, he was promoted to Sergeant and served in that capacity for 10 years before becoming Lieutenant in 2007. From April 2007 through August 2011, Hutcherson would act as the Nashville District’s Midnight Lieutenant, Homeland Security, Wrecker Services and Criminal Interdiction Lieutenant and Administrative Lieutenant. He has received specialized training in Crash Reconstruction, DUI Enforcement, Radar, and Marine Corps Leadership. The Dickson, Tenn., native attended Austin Peay State University and is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.
Robert Nicholson was promoted to Administrative Lieutenant of THP District 3 Headquarters in Nashville. For the past five years, he served as Administrative Sergeant for the Highway Patrol’s Jackson District. Joining the THP in 1984, Nicholson was first assigned to the Memphis District, where he worked for seven years. He also worked as a K-9 Handler, serving THP District 4 (Memphis) and District 8 (Jackson). Nicholson was also a member of THP’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) for just over two years in the Nashville and Lawrenceburg Districts. Nicholson, originally from Jackson, Tenn., now resides in Centerville.
Clifford Babits has been promoted to Lieutenant over THP Nashville District’s Troop D (Wilson and Sumner County). Babits was commissioned as a State Trooper in 1983 and was assigned to Coffee County for one year, until transferring to Rutherford County. In 1986, he was then assigned to the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy for a brief stint, before returning to work the roads in Rutherford and Sumner counties. Babits was promoted to Sergeant in 1990 and served the communities of Davidson, Wilson, Sumner and Robertson counties until his most recent rank advancement. Babits also supervised the THP Motorcycle Unit from 2000-2005. He is a 23-year Crash Reconstructionist, and also has certifications in defensive tactics, physical fitness, firearms, police pursuit and police motorcycle operations. Babits is a former U.S. Army Military Policeman and Rutherford County Sheriff’s Deputy. Originally from Murfreesboro, Tenn., he attended Middle Tennessee State University. He now resides in Hendersonville.
Donald Boshears was promoted to Special Programs Lieutenant in the Knoxville District. Lt. Boshears began his career with the Tennessee Public Service Commission in July of 1990. He became a Sergeant in 1992 and served in that capacity until the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) was created under the Department of Safety in the summer of 1996. He then assumed the role of Road Sergeant for CVE in the Fall Branch District after the CVE/THP merger in July 2004. Boshears most recently served as Troop Sergeant for Knox and Union counties in the Knoxville District.
Traci Barrett has secured the Lieutenant position with the THP District 5 (Fall Branch). Barrett has been a State Trooper since 1995. Her first duty assignment was in Bradley County in the Chattanooga District. She was reassigned to THP Fall Branch in 1998, serving Jefferson County until 2002. Barrett worked a short period in Sevier County in the Knoxville District, before returning to District 5 as a Sergeant to Grainger County in 2003. Lt. Barrett, a seven-year member of the Fall Branch Riot Squad, also coordinated overtime programs for the District and served as an instructor for Tennessee’s Integrated Traffic Analysis Network (TITAN), Edison, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Work Zone Safety, Respectful Workplace, Radar and Firearms. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Carson Newman College.
Jamie Jarrett was promoted to Sergeant for the Haywood County Scales Complex in the Memphis District. Jarrett graduated from the THP Academy in 2000 and was originally assigned to Lauderdale County in the Memphis District. After spending four years in that assignment, he was transferred to neighboring Tipton County in 2004. Jarrett has served as a Road Trooper in Tipton until now. He has experience in Crash Reconstruction, Hazardous Material and Gang Awareness, is certified in Post Crash, Motor Coach, Cargo Tanker, and Level 1, and trained in DUI Enforcement and Ground Control. Jarrett has also served as a member of the THP Recruitment Team, THP District Honor Guard and the THP District Governor’s Detail. Jarrett was raised in Henning, Tenn., and currently lives in Tipton County.
Roger Cathey has been promoted to Sergeant in Henry County of the Jackson District. Cathey was a member of the first class to graduate from the new THP Training Center in 1997. He has spent the past 14 ½ years in Madison County, where he was first assigned. During that time, he has served in the Motorcycle Unit, Dignitary Detail and the Riot Squad. Cathey has been trained in Criminal Interdiction, Technical Traffic Investigation and Basic Spanish Communication for law enforcement. He has also acted as an eight-year Field Training Officer for the Jackson District. Cathey is a native of Brownsville, Tenn. He currently resides in Oakfield.
Christopher Moore was promoted to Sergeant in the THP Fall Branch District, assigned to midnights in Sullivan County. A nine-year veteran of the THP, Moore joined the Knox County troopers after graduating from cadet school in 2002. He spent the first four years on the patrol in Knox County and was then transferred to Greene County. After six months, Moore was reassigned to the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), where he served for nearly six years until his promotion to Sergeant. He currently lives in his hometown of Mosheim.
Russell Smith has been promoted to Sergeant in Grainger County, THP’s Fall Branch District. Smith was hired as a Trooper in 2004, as part of the THP 75th Anniversary Class. He reported to Loudon County in the Knoxville District for his initial assignment and has remained there for the past eight years, with the exception of a two-month stint in Executive Security in Nashville in 2005. He is a member of the THP Honor Guard and Governor’s Security Detail in Knoxville. Smith was selected as the 2007 Trooper of the Year by the Knoxville Optimist Club. He is a Crash Reconstructionist and a Drug Recognition Expert. Prior to joining the THP, Smith taught sixth-grade Social Studies at Lenoir City Middle School. He has earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Smith is originally from Knoxville. He currently resides in Lenoir City.
Patrick Turner has earned the rank of Sergeant over the Coffee County Scales Complex in the Chattanooga District. In March 1998, Turner attended THP Cadet School. Upon graduation, the Rogersville native was assigned to work the roads in the Lawrenceburg District. For the past 13 years, he has worked as a Road Trooper in Bedford and Moore counties. During that time, he has served on the THP District 7 Strike Team, the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) team and Dignitary Security teams. In 2008, Turner was chosen to provide security during the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. He currently lives in Lynchburg.
Thomas Clower was promoted to Sergeant in the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) in the Lawrenceburg District (Maury County). Prior to his promotion, Clower served four years as a Road Trooper in the Chattanooga District assigned to Hamilton County. He also worked more than 10 years in Bradley County. Clower was commissioned as a State Trooper in 1997. During his 15-year career, he has served as a Field Training Officer, a member of the district Riot Squad, Strike Team, Dignitary Detail and Methamphetamine Task Force. He is also a graduate of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy. In 2010, he received the Cleveland 100 Club Dedicated Professional Award. Clower began his law enforcement career as a Correctional Officer at the Morgan County Regional Correctional facility in Wartburg in 1989. He was also a Rockwood Police Officer and a Roane County Sheriff’s Deputy. Clower resides in Cleveland.
Ian Morris was promoted to Statistical Research Specialist in the department’s Research, Planning and Development (RP&D) Division. He started with the Department in 2008. During that time, he has helped provide traffic crash and fatality data, as well as citations and driver license statistics for the state’s 95 counties. Morris graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s in Applied Mathematics and a master’s in Biostatistics. He is originally from Salisbury, N.C., and currently resides in Murfreesboro.
Jeremy Luna was promoted to Communications Dispatch Supervisor for the THP Nashville District. He joined the Department in 2008 as a Communications Dispatcher 1. One year later, Luna was promoted to Communications Dispatcher 2. He was named the 2009 THP Dispatcher of the Year, edging out more than 80 dispatchers across the state. During the 2009 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) evaluation process, Dispatcher Luna was recognized for his extremely low error rate of only 1.2 percent. He also had the highest single number of entries in the Nashville District at 4,555. In March 2011, Luna was appointed as the alternate Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) for District 3. Luna, originally from Chapmansboro, currently resides in Sumner County.
Jason Barry was promoted to Communications Dispatch Supervisor for the THP Fall Branch District. He began his career as a Communications Dispatcher in February of 2001. His duties have included Amber Alert, Mission Critical Dispatcher training, Communications training and Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) for District 5. Barry currently resides in Johnson City.
Photos are available upon request.
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s (www.TN.Gov/safety) mission is to ensure the safety and general welfare of the public. The department encompasses the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Office of Homeland Security and Driver License Services. General areas of responsibility include law enforcement, safety education, motorist services and terrorism prevention.
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