38-8-106 - Qualifications of police officers. - Tennessee Statutes

38-8-106. Qualifications of police officers.

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;

     (2)  Be a citizen of the United States;

     (3)  Be a high school graduate or possess its equivalent, which shall include a general educational development (GED) certificate;

     (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 or controlled substances;

     (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)  Be free of all apparent mental disorders as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. An applicant must be certified as meeting these criteria by a qualified professional in the psychiatric or psychological field.

[Acts 1981, ch. 455, § 6; T.C.A., § 38-11-106; Acts 1983, ch. 270, § 6; 1988, ch. 968, § 2; 1990, ch. 1094, § 2; 1993, ch. 374, § 2; 2001, ch. 42, § 1; 2009, ch. 264, § 1.]