Detective honored for breaking CHPD crime clearance record
CHURCH HILL — Church Hill Police Department Detective Kevin Grigsby was honored Tuesday evening during the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting for breaking the department’s crime clearance record in his “rookie season.”
Police Chief Mark Johnson lured Grigsby to Tuesday’s BMA meeting under false pretenses.
But when Grigsby found his parents, wife Rachel, and infant son Hayden in the audience for the meeting, his detective instincts kicked in and he realized something was up.
At the end of the meeting, Johnson called Grigsby up before the board and presented him with a plaque recognizing his clearance rate record of 66 percent. The old record of 61 percent was set in 2010 under former Detective Will Mullins.
“I’ve been blessed to have some of the detectives that we’ve had over the years, and every one of them have been considerably above national average clearance rates, and considerably above state of Tennessee clearance rates,” Johnson said. “A detective in a department our size can make or break the department and the police chief in many ways because if the detective is good, the department and the chief are looking good.”
Johnson noted that a lot more is expected of a detective in a department the size of Church Hill’s where there’s only one detective.
A former Sullivan County and Hawkins County deputy, Grigsby took over as detective in January 2011 after five years on patrol for the CHPD.
Johnson said it’s “amazing” that he was able to break the department clearance record in his first full year in that position.
“It puts him in elite company, I think,” Johnson said.
The national crime clearance average is 33 percent; the state average in Tennessee is 36 percent.
“In 2011 Detective Grigsby, and the other men, but to his credit and largely due to his work, cleared 66 percent of all the offenses,” Johnson added.
The plaque reads, “Church Hill Police Department proudly recognizes Detective Kevin Grigsby, CHPD Crime Clearance Record of 66 percent, 2011.”
Aside from the plaque, Grigsby received a gift certificate to take his family out for supper.
To comment, you must register and verify your email address by telephone.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the registered user participating in online discussions. You agree not to post comments off topic, abusive, obscene, defamatory, vulgar, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned.
Browse Premiere Local Businesses
