Big Sandy police chief fired; officials looking for replacement
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BIG SANDY, Tenn. — Officials are facing a dilemma in one West Tennessee city after their only police officer is fired. City leaders are now left scrambling to figure out who is going to patrol their streets. The mayor of Big Sandy cited performance problems as to why they let go their only officer of eight years last week. Now with a gap in patrols, other law enforcement agencies have come to the rescue. “I’ve had a lot of phone calls at my office talking to me about this, wanting to know what we’re going to do about it,” Benton County Sheriff Kenny Christopher said. Currently, Big Sandy’s only cruiser sits idle in a garage. “We weren’t getting the law enforcement and protection the people of Big Sandy wanted and deserved,” Big Sandy Mayor Ron Lane said. After eight years on the force, officials said James Stockdale was let go due to long-term performance issues with patrols and cases. “He’s failed to show up in court,” Lane said. “There were several of these over time, and we felt that it was unacceptable.” But now with no officer of their own to protect and serve, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office is picking up the slack. “We always worked this end of the county pretty heavily, but we’ve beefed it up quite a bit,” Christopher said. “We’re patrolling the best we can.” But Lane said they do not want to be a burden. “Long term, we do need an officer,” Lane said. “They can be on duty and on call around the clock.” And that is something Christopher said he hopes to help them with. “We’ve got several applicants, and they’ve even had people apply in person,” Christopher said. “We’ll do the background checks and interviews and get someone out here as quick as we can.” Right now, Lane says they do not have a timeline on when they will hire a new officer. If you are interested in the position, call Big Sandy City Hall at 731-593-3213.
