The transition between an old and new administration can be a trying time for all involved. The changing of the guard between aldermen and mayoral administrations can be tense for those serving, as well as for local residents, but turmoil in the town of Alexandria has left the town without a police force.
Mayor Beth Tripp has been in office barely three weeks, and already she is facing some major challenges. Not only is the town grappling with the water and sewer issue, but now the entire police force has turned in their resignations.
Tensions in the town began even before the election, despite there only being one candidate on the ballot for the mayor’s seat. The mayor said that Police Chief Travis Bryant told her at the DeKalb County Fair that his officers were already looking for other jobs.
“They were going around town and telling people that if I was elected, they were going to quit. The other officers didn’t even come speak to me. They resigned. I didn’t fire anyone,” Tripp told the Smithville Review.
While Chief Bryant and Officer Brandon Deffendoll resigned on August 16, Officer Jackson Franks remained until turning in his resignation last week.
“I asked them to patrol Locust Street because we had people driving down there at like 60 miles per hour and had complaints about it,” Mayor Tripp said. “There are kids there, so I asked them to patrol. I kind of laid out what I expected. Patrol this street, and so on.”
“After I said that, I had Travis Bryant show up at my house, along with Officer Jackson Franks, when Bryant handed me his resignation. He said, ‘I’m resigning. This is mine and Brandon’s (Officer Deffendoll’s) resignation letter. I’ve turned in everything to Jackson. The vehicles are down there. I wish you the best of luck.’ Really, they were all planning to quit before I was even elected.”
With just one officer, the department found itself in a tough spot for patrols. While the Alexandria Police Department does have radio communications with DeKalb Dispatch, with no police chief, the department cannot utilize NCIC to run tags and driver’s licenses. Radio agreements have to be made with a police chief who certified in order to run NCIC checks over the radio. The agreements are signed with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and are highly regulated, meaning officers cannot just run random plates and identifications through NCIC without cause. When Chief Bryant resigned, that voided the agreement Alexandria was under at that time. With the resignation of Franks, the search for certified officers and a chief, takes on more urgency.
According to former Chief Bryant, he had some concerns over the new government and who was running it. “I had heard rumors before the election that Tripp would be disbanding the police department, and I had talked with her and she said that she never said that,” Bryant said. “She asked me to stay on, and said we were doing a good job, and didn’t want anything to change.”
“She later confronted me and told me that we weren’t doing our job,” Bryant alleged. “She wanted us to patrol by her house three or four times in the morning and three or four times in the evening. Where she lives is a low-crime area. We do patrol it, but there’s no need to do it that much.”
“Because of her concerns, I called my officers and dispatch and told them that every time we go by there to log it as an extra patrol so there’s a record of it,” Bryant continued. “She later told me I still wasn’t doing my job and wasn’t by her house enough.”
Bryant told the Smithville Review that he also had concerns over two newly elected aldermen in Alexandria and voiced his concerns over the matter with Mayor Tripp.
One issue Bryant expressed concerns over was with Luke Prichard and the filling of property on a supposed flood plain, across from the Dollar General Store. “That property is a flood plain, and by filling up that property it’s going to push that water over to other people’s property. One resident told me that it would cause them to lose their flood insurance,” Bryant said.
There is a question as to whether any violations of city ordinances have occurred, and who would be responsible for citing any violations on the property.
Bryant also said he had concerns over alderman Robert “Bobby” Simpson. “He used 401 West Main Street (Alexandria) as his home address. That’s a car wash. It’s well known down there that Bobby does not live in Alexandria. The city charter says you have to live there, and you have to have lived there for the past year. He doesn’t even live in town and she (Tripp) had already appointed him vice-mayor.”
The Smithville Review contacted the DeKalb Election Commission and according to Administrator Dustin Estes, Simpson’s address is listed at the election office as 401 West Main Street in Alexandria, which is the address of the car wash. Estes said that Simpson has indicated that he planned to change that address to 405 West Main, which is a home next to the car wash, but it is alleged that Simpson does not live at that property either.
Estes confirmed that all information concerning the issue has been turned over to the District Attorney’s office, at the DA’s request. Estes also said that the Election Commission does not have any authority to remove someone from office in the case, and that jurisdiction in the case would fall to the DA’s office.
Bryant alleged that the final straw was when Mayor Tripp allegedly went behind his back and asked the Sheriff’s Department to attend meetings and patrol the area without telling the him. “I said that it sounded like we were about to get fired on Monday morning.” It was then that Bryant and Officer Deffendoll decided to resign. Franks would resign a week later, leaving the town without a police force.
The Smithville Review reached out to DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray, who said he did speak with the mayor and he told her that his department would not be doing anything different from what they are already doing in the area. “We will still be answering calls and responding to emergencies, just like we always have.” Ray said. “We will not be doing extra patrols or attending meetings. That’s not what we are responsible for.”
Sheriff Ray said that, as always, his department tries to cover all the county and attempts to have patrols in the western portion of the county as much as possible.
Mayor Tripp said in an interview that she is working on the situation and the town is actively searching for certified police officers.
“I’m working on this situation the best that I can,” Tripp said. “I have a lot going on. I contacted Sheriff Patrick Ray, Constable Tyler Cripps, the Alexandria fire chief, and 911 Director Brad Mullinax. I’ve done my due diligence to try to protect my residents. Hopefully in the next week or so we’ll have some new officers.”
