Early voting for the 2014 Rutherford County elections starts in mid-July, and the general election will be held on Aug. 7. There are four candidates in the race for sheriff this year. The candidates are incumbent Robert Arnold, former sheriff’s department employees Bill Kennedy and Jim Tramel, and rounding out the roster is current TBI and FBI agent Dale Armour. Armour differs from the rest of the group in that he has never been an employee of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. He is the only candidate not involved in lawsuits with the current sheriff. I sat down with Armour and his campaign manager, Frank Caperton, to discuss his bid for sheriff. We started our conversation by talking about Armour’s credentials and background.

Dale Armour is a native of Rutherford County and a 1978 graduate of Oakland High School. In 1979, he joined the Murfreesboro Police Department, where he was one of the department’s first training officers. In 1986, Armour took a position with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. While employed with the Highway Patrol, Armour set up an identity theft (or, as it was called in those days, driver’s license fraud) program. He worked from Memphis to Kingsport setting up the driver’s license fraud program and teaching examiners what to look for. During this time he wrote the Tennessee State Manual on dealing with driver’s license fraud. He also began to do criminal investigations for the THP, including homicide and drug trafficking.

“I developed a rapport and assisted with investigations at many local departments during this time. I also spent two years as an undercover agent working mostly narcotic cases,” Armour explained. Then he added with a smile “Of my 34 years in law enforcement, undercover work was one of my least favorite things to do.”

In 1996, Armour transferred to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, were he investigated workmen’s compensation fraud. On the side, he started investigating white-collar crime.

“That’s where I found my niche. I love chasing down the fugitives. For a while, I managed Tennessee’s most-wanted program, which goes after the worst of the worst. We went after murderers, rapists, child predators and the like. I was credited with arresting over 1,000 violent fugitives in a 10-year period,” Armour said. In 2005, Armour was awarded TBI agent of the year for his fugitive program. He created a media program, TBI’s Most Wanted , which aired on Fox 17 following each episode of America’s Most Wanted.

“The fugitives we concentrated on, during the program, were the most violent criminals and child predators,” said Armour.

In 2005, he was promoted to the drug enforcement department of the TBI and oversaw the drug enforcement program in 29 counties. “I learned some very important lessons during that time. I had 13 agents spread over 29 counties, so we had to work with local law enforcement very closely. We went after mid- and upper-level drug dealers and that rolled into gang-related law enforcement. Since our department was decentralized, we got to know firsthand how each of these 29 counties conducted their investigations and did business. That type of cooperation is a very valuable tool in dealing with gangs and organized criminal activity,” he said. “There are gangs here in Rutherford County now. When I was growing up here you didn’t see the violence we see now. There was crime, but you didn’t see running gun battles, parking lot shootings and the random gang violence that is common now. Part of the cause of this influx of violence is that places like Los Angeles and Chicago were cutting deals some with these gang members and letting them leave their area instead of putting them in jail. They are letting them return to the state where they came from. That’s not a cure, that’s just moving the cancer.

“A good example of my dealing with gangs, in the Middle Tennessee area, happened when the Clarksville police had a problem with a gang called the Vice Lords. We met with the Clarksville PD and worked out a plan. We pooled all our resources, shared our knowledge and identified the players. We identified what their specialties were, which ones would bring the dope in from out of state, which ones did the enforcement and which ones control the distribution. Then we tailored our investigation to target the gang members with their specific violations. We brought in the DEA, the ATF, the affiliated state agencies, the Highway Patrol and even the alcohol beverage commission. After a six-month investigation, we are able to get life sentences for many of those gang members, we solved four homicides, and we even stopped one homicide in progress. As we arrived, gang members were dragging a man out of his house to shoot him in his driveway. The type of co-operation we had to combat the gangs in Clarksville is lacking here,” Armour said. “We need to reach out to other departments, get their help and offer ours to them. As for dealing with the gang problem right here in Rutherford County, I like to sit down with all the chiefs and sheriffs across this county and share our resources, our information and make common goals. We need a cooperative plan of action to deal with gangs that are working in this area,” Armour said.

In 2011, Armour went to the FBI Academy.

“Their management school is one of the best there is, up-to-date leadership skills, proactive plans for the future and opportunities to meet other law enforcement agents and management from all over the country. To this day, I remain in touch with many of those contacts I made at the academy. They are a great resource for solving common problems and sharing ideas. They may have the same type problems in their area that we are having here, and by sharing knowledge and ideas, we may be able to help them, or they can help us in dealing with it. I practiced this on a state level and I will do it here in Rutherford County as well. Having that kind of resource means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you have an investigation. You can draw from not only your past experience but the experiences from all over the country.

“If the citizens of Rutherford County elect me in August, no matter what’s happened the last four years, I inherit it. I won’t be pointing fingers or trying to lay blame on past administrations. The way I see it, I asked for this job. No matter what challenges there may be, I want the job. For the last 40 years, Rutherford County has had sheriffs that came up through the ranks. But with the continual influx of people this area, I think it’s time we had a new vision for the future for the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department. There has been a $9 million tax increase in the budget in the last four years. That’s our tax dollars, that’s my tax dollars, and I believe we can plan the budget better than that. I am coming at this from the outside, I can view this without bias. If I get the job, I will probably be known as the “Why Sheriff.” Why do we have to do it this way, why can’t we do it more economically or if it’s not effective, why are we doing this at all? Those are questions that need to be asked when you are using taxpayer money. I will bring a new perspective to it, a fresh set of eyes to the job. There are some things at this jail that we need to reevaluate and maybe find a better way to do it. We have some really good employees at the sheriff’s department. I’ve never had a bad experience with dealing with them; they have always been very helpful, courteous and polite. I’ve never believed that the employees were a problem, I think most the issues with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department are management issues,” Armour said.

Added campaign manager Caperton, “Dale has management written all over him. The jail has more than 400 employees and a $40 million budget. That is a 34% increase in just four years that does not sound like professional management to me. We need to take the budget line by line, fix what’s wrong with it and make it transparent for the taxpayers to see. The budget should be posted on the website so that the taxpayers can view it for themselves and make their own decisions about how the money is being spent.”

“It is not a stand-alone business, it has to work within the structure of the county, and it has to work with the road department, the fire department, the schools and the rest of the county,” Armour added, “We can’t continue to do business this way, the taxpayers are not money trees. The sheriff’s department is part of the infrastructure of the county and it has to be cost-effective too. We need a full-time CPA at the Sheriff’s Department, to document the budget for transparency; all expenditures need to be documented and accountable,” Armour said.

“The current sheriff has made the comment recently that crime is down in Rutherford County by 20%. This is not the case; statistics show that crime is at the same rate now that it was four years ago. I will give credit where it’s due and I can’t confirm this is what he meant, but it is possible to look at part of the statistics and say the crime is down in some areas. But overall, crime in Rutherford County has not decreased, and homicides are way up. We are seeing an increase in violent crimes. I believe the population should be able to feel safe in their own homes. If they do, then we are doing our job. I have always felt that my job is to protect those that can’t protect themselves. In 34 years I have arrested a lot of bad guys,” Armour said. “But at the end of the day my goal has always been to protect those that need it.

“I believe that leadership should set the example: you treat your employees well and your employees will treat the public well. You can’t treat employees bad and then expect them to go out and do better. You treat your employees fairly, equally and consistently, and then you demand that they do the same. There was a lot of negativity surrounding a video from a roadblock last Fourth of July. I don’t think the public should judge how they’re going to be treated by law enforcement by that video. I don’t think that any citizen should have to feel scared. I don’t think that anyone should feel that they are being belittled by officers. There should never be a reason to look in your rear-view mirror and think, ‘Oh no, is the officer behind me the guy from the video?’” Armour said. “Officers should be approachable and should treat the public well. You can’t start hard and expect much cooperation. On the campaign trail, I keep hearing younger, college-age people are scared of local law enforcement. Now it’s obvious, no one wants to get stopped or get a ticket, but you should not be afraid of how you’re going to be treated. Getting stopped is not fun, but you should be treated with courtesy by the officer. Badge-heavy law enforcement should be a thing of the past. The things I have seen, like the pepper spray video at the jail, and some of the traffic stops, where there was questionable treatment, makes me think, that could be my son, or it could be your child. Officers have a hard job, but they should be able to control themselves. They should never be rude or forceful unless a situation demands it.”

“One of the issues we are hearing repeatedly is that of nepotism. The officer in the video pepper-spraying a restrained inmate is Robert Arnold’s nephew. Another issue that has been mentioned to me on several occasions is the officer who gave “a professional courtesy” and did not arrest a fellow officer for DUI. This officer was not disciplined by the current sheriff, who said he didn’t see anything wrong with his actions,” Armour said.

Another glaring issue, in my opinion, is the fact that the jail is used as a dumping ground for problem employees. When there is a problem with a patrol deputy, he is moved to the detention dept. Detention should be run as professionally as any other department. Officers are hired into the jail knowing that they’re going to move to patrol. We train them as detention officers and then move them to patrol, then someone has to be trained to take their place. So that resource and the money it took to train them is lost. We need to hire specifically for the area that the officer will be used. If there’s a problem with any employee, the problem need to be dealt with where it’s at. Moving employees in this matter creates a second-class atmosphere in the jail, and it should not be that way. The jail is as important a part of the infrastructure as any other,” Armour stated.

“Rolling road blocks or drivers license checkpoints, as far as I am concerned, are a constitutional issue and I would defer to have an opinion on it. That is something for the courts and the judges to decide. Driver’s license enforcement is a regulatory function of the highway patrol, not the county sheriff. There is no reason for us to utilize county money and resources to conduct regulatory inspections for the highway patrol,” Armour said.

On the subject of DUI checkpoints, Armour said this: “If you can articulate to me a particular place or time where we have had a high occurrence of drunken driving issues, I might say okay to this tactic, I might say okay to it. I sincerely think there are other ways to address this issue. I am against random DUI checkpoints; I do not think someone should be stopped without a reason. There should always be reasonable suspicion to make a DUI traffic stop.”

The sheriff’s department has recently obtained the MRAP vehicle, also referred to as the Tank. This is a military-style vehicle and gives a very visible appearance of militarization of the police department. Armour addressed this issue:

“The Tank is no different than a gun; it depends on how it’s used. For instance, if the tank is used to rescue someone, that’s a proper use for it. You have to be able to trust the man who makes the decision to use it, just like a gun. Law enforcement should not be offensive with this vehicle. For instance, if you have a barricaded gunman, it could serve as protection for the officers; that would be a proper use for it. Law enforcement is there to protect the public, not control it. There has been a trend in recent years for departments to become more tactical. When I started in law enforcement we had 38’s with six bullets. These days, you see more and more military-style equipment in police departments, some to the point of even being tactical. There are times when you have to be tactical, like those barricade situations. But the general public wants a professional officer, not a military presence.

With the job and career that Mr. Armour has, one might wonder, why is he running for sheriff?

“I have 34 years in law enforcement and Rutherford County is my home. I have a son, two stepdaughters and beautiful grandchildren growing up here. This is the fourth generation of my family here and I want to give something back to the place we call home. So far I’ve had a tremendous career, put a lot of bad people in jail. I got to meet presidents and worked with some of the finest law enforcement officers you would ever meet. After I attended the FBI Academy, I became part of the unit over the sex offender registry, over Interpol, over aviation, over communications and over the TBI command post. I did that to make sure that I had the very best training I could get. I was asked to run for sheriff, four years ago, but I did not feel like I was ready. I wanted more management experience. I went to the University of Tennessee’s management Institute and to the FBI Academy. I received management credit for the University of Virginia and I want to use all this experience to give back to Rutherford County. I realize that the job of sheriff is a temporary job. I will only be a temporary employee at the sheriff’s department; the 400-plus employees are the ones who are making their career there. In four years, I will come back to the citizens of Rutherford County and ask for four more years based on my record as sheriff. I think we need to get away from elected politicians thinking that this is their kingdom and back to a mentality of working for the citizens. I am running as an independent, although I consider myself a conservative. I think the office of sheriff should be beholden to the citizens and not to a political party,” Armour said.

“The sheriff’s office of Rutherford County, as stated before, has over 400 employees and a $40 million budget. It needs a leader, not a patrol officer, to manage it. The sheriff should be more focused on controlling the budget and daily affairs of the department. If elected, I will always represent the department professionally. I will always be properly attired when dealing with county executives and the public. And, I will always represent myself in a professional manner. A department this size demands a sheriff that is a good manager. We have officers trained in the incident command system that can handle any scene. The only time a sheriff should take control is when he finds deficiencies in the way the scene is being handled,” Armour said.

“There are some other things I would implement to be proactive. One is I want to bring in the use of part-time and volunteer employees. I would like to use retired officers to serve civil warrants and garnishments. I would like to start a program using volunteers to check on elderly people living by themselves. I would like to train volunteers to assist those needing to get to a safe place. I know that there would be churches and civic organizations interested in helping us with this program, which also makes for good public relations. These part-timers and volunteers can be trained to accomplish these tasks and free up patrol officers who would be better used elsewhere. By using these people we can eliminate parts of the budget that goes to these areas. I would also like to bring in, on as needed basis, part-time internal investigators. Law enforcement needs to be transparent; I’d like to hire two part-time retired investigators that have no local ties, to handle internal investigations. They will be paid for investigations only and when they are done, their findings will be turned over for any policy violations or criminal charges,” said Armour. “I have a fantastic job right now, I’m chasing bank robbers, I work with the FBI and putting gang bangers in jail. I am guaranteed this job till mandatory retirement. I want to exchange that for a job that only lasts four years. There is not the price of a good used car between the salary of the job I have now and the salary of sheriff. I want the job of sheriff because this is my home and I want to give back to it. I will enforce the law equally, fairly and I will do it without favor.”