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Sheriff David
Davenport
Jefferson County
Tennessee Sheriffs' Association
President
2007-08 |
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38th Annual TSA Family Conference
July 20-26, 2008
Park Vista Hotel,
Gatlinburg, TN
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2006-07 Sheriff of
the Year
Sheriff Mike Wilson
of Weakley County |
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Suspect Charged in
Solicitation Scheme
Richard Simms
August 17, 2007
The Bradley County Sheriff's Office has arrested a
Cleveland, Tennessee man for soliciting businesses on
behalf of law enforcement and firefighter associations
with which he had no affiliation.
David L. Forni, 45, is charged with accepting money from
two businesses in Bradley County that he solicited on
behalf of the Tennessee Sheriff's Association,
the International Association of Retired Firefighters,
and the Police and Sheriff's Association. The
investigation started when the sheriff's office started
receiving calls from businesses that had been contacted
by phone about donating to the Tennessee Sheriff's
Association.
Sheriff Tim Gobble said, "The sheriff's association is a
legitimate organization that works to improve law
enforcement in Tennessee. They do not solicit by phone
but do raise money through an annual mailing to homes in
February." Forni is charged with two counts of
unauthorized solicitation for police/judicial
associations, a class E felony, and two counts of
criminal impersonation, a class B misdemeanor.
Businesses who contributed believed their name would
appear in a law enforcement or fire fighter publication.
They were given a receipt for either the International
Fire Service Yearbook or the Police and Sheriff's
Association. The investigation revealed there has
been a number of businesses in Bradley and Hamilton
County that were called about donating to the sheriff's
association. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is
conducting a similar investigation of those allegations.
Businesses who contributed were given a receipt for
either the International Fire Service Yearbook or the
Police and Sheriff's Association Law Enforcement
Journal.
Any business in either Bradley County or Hamilton County
who responded to a phone call by making a contribution
to one of these organizations should contact the
sheriff's office in their county. In Bradley County you
should contact Detective Carl Maskew at 728-7337. In
Hamilton County you should contact sheriff's Detective
Robin Langford at 209-8940.
Sheriff Gobble thanked those who had called the
sheriff's office or contacted him regarding the calls
they received.
"Law enforcement and citizens working in unison to
reduce crime and improve the quality of life in the
community can make a difference," said Gobble.
Forni gave a business address of 1009 Keith Street,
Suite E.
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If each agency is
accountable, we can reduce problem
By Sheriff David
Davenport
Published in
The Tennessean, Tuesday, 09/25/07
I found The
Tennessean's stories on prison and jail escapees
both informative and to the point. Any time a violent
person escapes from jail or prison, society is at risk.
As a sheriff, each time
we have an "escape" (usually an inmate walking away from
a work program) we immediately issue a warrant and enter
the person in the National Crime Information Center
database. If the person isn't found in 48-72 hours, he
or she is evaluated to determine the threat to the
community.
If the escapee has a
history of violent crimes, the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation is requested to put the individual on the
Top Ten List to expedite the capture of the escapee.
If the escapee is a state
inmate being housed in a county jail, the Tennessee
Department of Correction is immediately notified of the
escape.
When a jailbreak occurs,
each law enforcement agency is notified by teletype
messages, and BOLOs (Be On the Lookout alerts) are
issued on the radio in an attempt to apprehend the
individual or individuals.
In the past two weeks,
seven inmates escaped the Hamblen County Jail in
Morristown. All are back in custody (one escapee was
caught in Texas) thanks to the diligence and hard work
of the Hamblen County Sheriff's Department and other law
enforcement agencies.
For the system to work,
each escapee should be put in the NCIC system and not
removed until capture or confirmed death of the escapee.
With approximately 150 state inmates still being listed
on escape status, the state Department of Correction
should have dedicated individuals monitoring and
updating fugitive escapee files routinely.
Since the TBI has
jurisdiction in tracking and apprehending fugitives,
they should be notified of any escape of state inmates.
I know most sheriffs view
escapes as a danger to the community and do everything
possible to apprehend and prosecute escapees.
There is a system in
place to identify these people and, as The Tennessean
story pointed out, most are stopped for traffic
violations or arrested for other offenses.
It would be great if
state and/or local governments had the resources and
manpower to dedicate full-time people to track fugitives
but, for now, we have to make what is available work. By
each agency doing their duty and not passing the buck,
we can improve the system that is in place to track and
apprehend escapees.
(C) 2005 - The Tennessee Sheriff's Association |