Sheriff’s dept. investigates police chief mugshot
CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — A controversial mugshot has two Crockett County jailers off the job. The booking photo shows Maury City Police Chief Richard Stitts with a cigar in his mouth and holding up an orange inmate shirt instead of wearing it. Sheriff Troy Klyce, who was away on vacation last week, said he had seen that initially no mugshot of Stitts had been posted. “When I found out his picture wasn’t on there, I started to raise hell,” Klyce said. “I want his picture on there.” Afterward, Klyce first saw Stitts’ mugshot on the app Mobile Patrol. “When I called down there, the picture appeared which happened to be the one that made a mockery of my department,” Klyce said. The sheriff said as soon as he saw the first mug shot, he called the supervisor at the jail and gave them one hour to get a new mugshot taken. Stitts had surrendered to deputies Friday at the Crockett County Jail. He was wanted on a warrant for stalking, simple assault and harassment from an Oct. 7 incident with his child’s mother. Court papers say Stitts, 66, threatened to kill her. Stitts told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News he walked in with the cigar in his mouth and never thought it was a big deal. He said he did not put on the orange inmate shirt because he was posting bond immediately. “I don’t want to make any comments about the picture. I just want everything to get back to normal,” Stitts said. Stitts, with his attorney by his side, also would not comment about the charges he faces. Sheriff Klyce believes Stitts may have made it difficult for his deputies to do their job. “One was a rookie officer and could have been intimidated,” Klyce said. “The other was a veteran and should not have allowed this to happen.” Both officers will remain on unpaid leave until the internal investigation is complete, according to Klyce. Klyce said the picture has left his department with a black eye but that this type of mistake will not happen again. Stitts currently is suspended without pay from his job as chief of police in Maury City.
