Captain Marty Bowman
photo by Gail Perry
Lieutenant Mike Brown
photo by Gail Perry
Officers Jamie Thompson and Melissa Hyslop
photo by Gail Perry
Sergeant Brock Nunley
photo by Gail Perry
The Soddy Daisy police department is moving in a new direction, said Chief Jeff Gann. It started with his own promotion earlier this month after past Chief of Police Phillip Hamrick retired. At the Thursday evening commission meeting, Chief Gann introduced two new police officers and announced promotions within the department after which a pinning ceremony was held.
Two newly-hired officers are Jamie Thompson who comes to Soddy Daisy with 17 years of experience in the Red Bank police department, and Melissa Hyslop. Officer Hyslop worked for the city in the past before she moved to Hawaii. She has moved back to Soddy Daisy and has come back to work again in the police department.
Brock Nunley has been with the department, running the canine patrol for some time, said Chief Gann. He was promoted to Sergeant on patrol.
Mike Brown has worked for the Soddy Daisy police department for around 19-20 years, starting in patrol, moving to shift sergeant and then to codes enforcement. He has now been promoted to Lieutenant over the patrol department.
Marty Bowman has worked up through the ranks, said the chief. He started with the Soddy Daisy police department in dispatch, and was moved up to lieutenant. Thursday night he was promoted to Captain of the Soddy Daisy police department.
"Congratulations and thanks for their work," was expressed by the commissioners. Mayor Robert Cothran told them “We’ve got your backs.”
Chief Gann compiled statistics from his department for the month of September. The long list of calls they responded to included 50 auto crashes, 35 burglar alarms, four narcotics violations, 19 thefts, most of these occurring at Wal Mart, four auto thefts, two burglaries and one robbery of a business. Police assisted 23 citizens including wellness checks during September. There were 271 traffic stops made, and checks were made in response to 36 suspicious persons and 11 suspicious vehicles. There were 1450 checks made to businesses during the third shift. The fire department responded to two residential fires, one commercial building fire and one vehicle fire.
City Manager Janice Cagle received approval from the commissioners to purchase LED light bulbs for use in city hall, which she hopes will save money in the long run. The north end of the city has almost recovered from the devastating floods that happened two weeks ago, said Ms. Cagle, and has almost finished making repairs to the senior center, that were necessary because of the flooding. Commissioner Max Lowe noted during September the city continues to grow, with eight new building permits being issued in September.