Williamson County sheriffs reflect on decades of change: K-9 units, Project Lifesaver, staffing and modern policies

Former and current Williamson County sheriffs described a steady evolution in local policing, saying new technologies, formalized training and targeted programs have reshaped how deputies serve the rapidly growing county.

Ricky Henley, who served as Williamson County sheriff from 2000 to 2008, said one of his proudest achievements was starting the sheriff’s office’s first K-9 unit and bringing Project Lifesaver to Tennessee, a locator program for people with dementia and children who wander. "Project Lifesaver probably, I'm more proud of than anything," Henley said, describing the transmitter bracelets and a receiver kept at the sheriff’s office to speed rescues.

Jeff Long, who served as sheriff from 2008 to 2019 and later accepted a state appointment as commissioner of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, highlighted efforts to modernize operations, including obtaining donated aviation assets for search-and-rescue and pursuing state accreditation. "We were able to get the aviation unit, through donations... it didn't cost the community anything to get helicopters," Long said, noting the helicopters helped reduce risky pursuits by maintaining aerial surveillance.

Dusty Rhodes, a retired sheriff with more than four decades in law enforcement, said training and in‑house detention certification were priorities during his service. Rhodes described creating local detention training and pursuing certifications that he said improved professionalism and safety. He also recalled traumatic calls, including when deputy Chandler Rowe was shot and a separate unattended-death case that left a lasting impression.

Jeff Hughes, elected county sheriff in March 2024, said his immediate priorities have been organizational structure, staffing and pay. Hughes said he reorganized command by adding four deputy chiefs to increase accountability across roughly 350 allocated positions and pushed compensation to roughly the 75th percentile of market rates to improve recruitment and retention. "As close to full staff now as we've been in a long time," Hughes said, noting he requested 18 additional positions on taking office.

All of the interviewees pointed to technology and training as major changes. Officers who started in earlier decades recalled two-way radios and paper records; today’s patrol vehicles include in-car computers and cameras, and agencies use body-worn cameras and standardized policies. On use-of-force and pursuits, opinions emphasized balance: Henley said cameras can capture only a part of an incident and cautioned that "we've gone too far the other direction with our use of force" without strong contextual review; Long and Hughes described reviews of body camera footage and model policies developed with the Tennessee Chiefs of Police Association and other statewide partners to standardize practices.

Population growth was a recurring concern: speakers contrasted single‑shift patrols and small populations in the 1970s and 1980s with the county’s much larger population today, and they tied growth to rising demands on staffing, facilities and response times. Several speakers said past analyses showed many people held in the county jail are from outside Williamson County, a factor that complicates capacity planning.

The interviews combined program details, tactical anecdotes and administrative changes. Speakers described measurable changes (K‑9 expansion from a few dogs to a larger force; adding aviation assets; accreditation work) and continuing challenges (funding competition with school budgets, recruiting qualified officers, and ensuring training keeps pace with technological advances). Hughes said the long-term aim is to leave the sheriff’s office "a little better than I found it" by institutionalizing structure, technology and competitive pay.

The session ended with each interviewee thanking the students and staff who conducted the interviews and reflecting on their time in Williamson County service.