SHERIFF
QUALIFYING PROCEDURE
Candidates
seeking the office of Sheriff must file certain documents with the POST (Peace
Officer Standards & Training) Commission 14 days before the qualifying
deadline. See the following site for
information.
www.state.tn.us/commerce/let/post/index.html
8-8-102.
Qualifications for office - Affidavits.
(a) To qualify for election or
appointment to the
office
of sheriff, a person shall:
(1)
Be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
(2)
Be a qualified voter of the county;
(3)
Be a high school graduate or possess
equivalency;
(4) Not have been convicted by a
court of the
United
States, the state of Tennessee, or any state
or
territory of the United States of an offense that
was
a felony;
(5)
Not have been released or discharged from the
armed forces of the United States
with a
dishonorable
discharge;
(6)
Have caused such person's fingerprints to be
filed with the Tennessee bureau of
investigation;
(7)
Have been certified by a qualified professional
in the psychiatric or psychological
fields to be free
of
all apparent mental disorders as described in the
Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders,
Third Edition (DSM-III), or its successor,
of
the American Psychiatric Association.
The
requirements of this subsection apply to any
person who holds the office of
sheriff on May 30,
1997.
However, in order to qualify for any
subsequent
election or appointment to the office of
sheriff, such person shall meet the
requirements of
subsection
(b).
(b)
After May 30, 1997, to qualify for election or
appointment
to the office of sheriff a person shall:
(1)
Be a citizen of the United States;
(2)
Be at least twenty-five (25) years of age prior to
the
date of qualifying for election;
(3)
Be a qualified voter of the county;
(4) Have obtained a high school
diploma or its
equivalent
in educational training as recognized by
the Tennessee state board of
education;
(5)
Not have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to
or entered a plea of nolo
contendere to any felony
charge
or any violation of any federal or state laws
or
city ordinances relating to force, violence, theft,
dishonesty,
gambling, liquor or controlled
substances; so long as the violation
involves an
offense
that consists of moral turpitude or a
misdemeanor
crime of domestic violence;
(6)
Be fingerprinted and have the Tennessee bureau
of
investigation make a search of local, state and
federal
fingerprint files for any criminal record.
Fingerprints are to be taken under
the direction of
the
Tennessee bureau of investigation. It shall be
the
responsibility of the T.B.I. to forward all
criminal
history results to the Peace Officer
Standards and Training (POST)
commission for
evaluation
of qualifications;
(7)
Not have been released, separated or
discharged
from the Armed Forces of the United
States
with a Dishonorable or Bad Conduct
discharge,
or as a consequence of conviction at
court martial for either state or
federal offenses;
(8)
Have been certified by a qualified professional
in
the psychiatric or psychological fields to be free
of
all apparent mental disorder as described in the
Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders,
Third Edition (DSM III) or its successor,
of
the American Psychiatric Association; and
(9)
Possess a current and valid peace officer
certification
as issued by the Tennessee POST
commission
as provided in § 38-8-107, and as
defined in title 38, chapter 8,
within twelve (12)
months prior to the close of
qualification for the
election
for the office of sheriff.
In
the event that certification for peace officer is
inactive
or no longer valid, proof of the intent to run
for
the office of sheriff shall be presented to the
POST commission for approval to
take the POST
certification examination; provided,
that all
requirements
are met as set forth in subdivisions
(b)(1)-(8) and those set by the
commission.
The
provisions of this subdivision shall not apply in
any
county having a metropolitan form of
government
where the sheriff does not have law
enforcement
powers.
(c)
(1) Any person seeking the office
of sheriff
shall file with the POST Commission,
either prior to
the
qualifying deadline for such office, or after filing
the
qualifying petition for such office, the following:
(A)
An affidavit sworn to and signed by the
candidate
affirming that the candidate meets the
requirements
of this section; and
(B)
A confirmation of psychological evaluation form
certified by the
psychologist/psychiatrist providing
psychological
evaluation as provided for in
8-8-102(b)(8)
for the purposes of sheriff candidacy
qualification.
The form shall be developed by the
POST
commission and shall include the examining
psychologist's/psychiatrist's license
number and
state
of licensure. The form shall clearly state in
bold
face type directly above the signature line that
a person who, with intent to deceive,
makes any
false
statement on such application commits the
offense
of perjury pursuant to § 39-16-702. The
form shall be made available by the
POST
Commission
upon request by any candidate for the
office of sheriff.
(2)
If such affidavit and form are not filed with the
POST
commission by the withdrawal deadline for
the
office of sheriff, such candidate's name shall not
be
placed on the ballot. The POST commission shall
have the authority to verify the
validity of such
affidavit and form.
(3)
The POST commission shall verify POST
certification of any person seeking
the office of
sheriff who meets these
requirements. The original
notarized verification form from
the POST
Commission, together with such
person's nominating
petition, shall be filed by the
POST commission with
the county election commission as
soon as possible.
If
the POST commission has not certified to the
county election commission no later
than the last
day on which ballots may be printed
a person
seeking to qualify as a candidate
for the office of
sheriff as meeting the
qualifications as provided for
in this section, such person's name
shall not appear
on the ballot. In the event that a
person seeks
election to the office of sheriff
by the county
legislative body to fill a vacancy
in office, such
verification must be filed with the
county clerk prior
to the election.
(d)
Every person who is elected or appointed to the
office of sheriff after May 30, 1997,
shall, annually
during
such term of office, complete a forty-hour
in-service training course
appropriate for the rank
and responsibilities of a sheriff.
The training course
shall be taught at the Tennessee
Law Enforcement
Training Academy. The curriculum
shall be
developed by the Tennessee
Sheriff's Association
and approved by the Tennessee POST
commission.
Any such sheriff who does not
fulfill the obligations
of this training course shall lose
the power of
arrest.
(e)
(1) Notwithstanding any provision
of
subsections (b)-(e) to the
contrary, a current and
valid peace officer certification
issued by the
Tennessee POST commission or
training that is
approved by or meets the standard
on minimum
hours required to be certified by
the POST
commission is not a requirement for
a person to
initially qualify for election to
the office of sheriff.
However, if such a person qualifies
to run for the
office of sheriff and is elected to
the office, such
person shall be required to enroll,
within six (6)
months after taking office, in the
recruit training
program offered by the Tennessee
Law
Enforcement Training Academy. Any
cost
associated with obtaining such POST
certification
shall be paid by the county. For
such person to
qualify for the office of sheriff
in any subsequent
election, the person must have
completed such
recruit training program and have
obtained POST
certification during such person's
first term of office
as sheriff.
(2)
If, pursuant to subdivision (e)(1), a person is
elected to the office of sheriff,
and the person does
not possess a current and valid
peace officer
certification, upon taking office
the salary of such
person shall be fifteen percent
(15%) less than the
salary of a person initially
elected to the office of
sheriff who does possess a current
and valid
certification; provided, that if
during the first year in
office, such person completes the
recruit training
program and obtains certification,
the salary of such
person shall, as a matter of law,
automatically be
raised the month following the date
certification is
obtained to the level of other
persons initially elected
to the office of sheriff who are
certified. However,
if such a person does not complete
the recruit
training program and obtain
certification during the
person's first year in office, then
the following
reduction in salary shall occur as
a matter of law,
until such person obtains
certification:
(A)
During the second year in office, the salary
shall be twenty percent (20%) less
than the salary
of a first-term sheriff who is
certified;
(B)
During the third year in office, the salary shall
be twenty-five percent (25%) less
than the salary of
a first-term sheriff who is
certified; and
(C)
During the fourth year in office, the salary shall
be thirty percent (30%) less than
the salary of a
first-term sheriff who is
certified.
Notwithstanding such salary
schedule, the salary
shall, as a matter of law, be
automatically raised the
month following the date
certification is obtained to
the level of a first-term sheriff
who is certified.
(3)
As used in this subsection, "certification" or
"certified" means a
current and valid peace officer
certification issued by the
Tennessee POST
commission or training that is
approved by or meets
the standard on minimum hours
required to be
certified by the Tennessee POST
commission.
[Code 1858, § 358 (deriv. Acts
1777 (Nov.), ch. 8,
§ 3); Shan., § 447; Code 1932, §
694; T.C.A. (orig.
ed.), § 8-802; Acts 1993, ch. 373,
§ 2; 1994, ch.
941, § 1; 1997, ch. 338, §§ 1,
2; 2000, ch. 742, §§ 1,
2.]
Fingerprinting Procedure For
Sheriff Candidates
1.
Go to the
local Sheriff’s Office to be printed
2.
Make sure
they use the blue card
3.
Be sure
to check the box (Reason) (candidate)
4.
Forward
to the P.O.S.T. Commission (if mailed it is advised to send it certified mail
and request a receipt)
5.
P.O.S.T.
will forward to T.B.I for criminal background check.
6.
After
background check, T.B.I will forward back to P.O.S.T
P.O.S.T. will
then contact you and the election commission as to
approval/non-approval to be on the
official ballot.