Any person employed as a full-time police officer, and any person employed or utilized as a part-time, temporary, reserve or auxiliary police officer or as a special deputy, shall:

(1) Be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 38-8-106

  • auxiliary police officer: means any person employed by any municipality or any political subdivision of the state of Tennessee whose primary responsibility is to support the full-time police officer in the prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders, and assisting in the prosecution of offenders for appropriate remuneration in measure with specifically assigned duties or job description. See Tennessee Code 38-8-101
  • Full-time police officer: means any person employed by any municipality or political subdivision of the state of Tennessee whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime, and the apprehension of offenders, and whose primary source of income is derived from employment as a police officer. See Tennessee Code 38-8-101
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Special deputy: means any person who is assigned specific police functions as to the prevention and detection of crime and general laws of this state on a volunteer basis, whether working alone or with other police officers. See Tennessee Code 38-8-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(2) Be a citizen of the United States, or a permanent legal resident of the United States who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States armed forces pursuant to § 38-8-105(d);
(3) Be a high school graduate or possess a high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education;
(4) Not have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any felony charge or to any violation of any federal or state laws or city ordinances relating to force, violence, theft, dishonesty, gambling, liquor, controlled substances or controlled substance analogues;
(5) Not have been released or discharged under any other than honorable discharge from any of the armed forces of the United States;
(6) Have the person’s fingerprints on file with the Tennessee bureau of investigation;
(7) Have passed a physical examination by a licensed physician or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, so long as the task is expressly included in the written protocol developed jointly by the supervising physician and the nurse practitioner or physician assistant, whichever is applicable, setting forth the range of services that may be performed by the nurse practitioner or physician assistant;
(8) Have a good moral character as determined by a thorough investigation conducted by the employing agency; and
(9) Have been certified by a Tennessee licensed health care provider qualified in the psychiatric or psychological field as being free from any impairment, as set forth in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association at the time of the examination, that would, in the professional judgment of the examiner, affect the applicant’s ability to perform an essential function of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation.
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