Commission accepts several agreed orders, suspensions and surrenders; schedules hearings on selected matters

The Tennessee POST commission accepted a series of agreed orders on Aug. 29 affecting certifications for multiple officers, and took procedural steps on other disciplinary matters.

Accepted agreed orders included surrenders and agreed suspensions for officers from multiple agencies. The commission recorded final administrative outcomes for cases previously sent to administrative law judges and accepted negotiated suspensions in several matters.

Notable items
- Accepted surrender/agreed orders: Edwin Milan (agreed surrender), Clifton Thomas Bellamy (agreed surrender), Chad Mitchell Garland (agreed surrender), Jared Wayne Wilcutt (agreed surrender).
- Agreed suspensions accepted: Eric Bradley Clem (agreed suspension pending decertification), Joseph Tecumseh Jones (negotiated one‑year suspension tied to reapplication conditions), and others. The commission noted pending litigation in some cases.
- Final orders: The administrative law judge’s proposed three‑year suspension for Eric Austin became final when Austin did not appeal within 30 days; the commission recorded the matter as closed.
- Referred matters and hearings: The commission voted to schedule an informal hearing in the matter of Jeffrey Jeffers (arrest and conviction reported by Campbell County) to allow for a fuller record and agency notification.

Settlement in high-profile case
- The commission approved a settlement proposal in the administrative case of Albert Lee Smith: commissioners accepted a two‑year suspension retroactive to Dec. 21, 2022, with conditions including completion of 2024 and 2025 in‑service training and transitional training at a law‑enforcement training academy. The motion passed by voice vote; the settlement includes reporting of the suspension to national databases and does not expunge the record.

Why it matters: These actions change officers’ certification status and, in some cases, limit or delay future employment in law enforcement. Accepted surrenders and suspensions are recorded in POST’s national reporting and affect both the officers and the hiring agencies.

Ending: The commission maintained its role as the deciding body for certification discipline, accepting negotiated outcomes in some cases, scheduling hearings in others, and updating the record for cases closed by administrative law judge rulings.