Cannon County Constables Complete Training

All five of Cannon County’s recently elected constables completed training required by state law to give them their law enforcement powers. The Cannon constables joined constables from Warren, Dekalb, Sumner, Coffee and Grundy counties to earn their badges.

The training was hosted by Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves and sponsored by both the Tennessee Constable council and the Tennessee Constable Association. Instructors were provided by the Coffee County Sheriff, Warren County Sheriff, Manchester Police, Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, and other agencies.

Constables Jim Gibbs, Tom Ganoe, Kevin Duncan, Forrest Pitcock and Adam Melton also participated in a handgun qualification program instructed by Peace Office Standards of Training instructor Mike Jarvis and had live fire qualification at the Tennessee Correctional Training Center in Tullahoma.

This is the first time in recent history that Cannon County has an elected constable in each district. Cannon County constables are law enforcement officers by Tennessee state law just as are police officers and sheriff deputies.

Each of Cannon County’s elected constables have some form of law enforcement experience in their backgrounds. Constable Melton who was first elected 2006 has 4 years experience as a constable and has served on the Cannon County Law Enforcement Committee as a Woodbury alderman and was been recently reappointed to the Law Enforcement Committee by County Executive Mike Gannon.

Cannon County constables answer to the voters of their district and can execute their law enforcement powers individually but are not typically dispatched to emergency calls. They are available to assist the sheriff and Woodbury police in their duties.

The constables would like to also remind citizens in need of emergency police service to call 911 -- not your district constable. The 911 Center will dispatch the appropriate officer from either the sheriff or police department depending upon jurisdiction.