Sevier News Messenger Sevier County News and Opinion
The City of Sevierville Police Department announces that Chief Joe Manning from Bluffton, S.C. has been named as the new chief of police. He replaces former SPD Chief Don Myers, who retired March 30 after thirty-nine years of service to the city.
Chief Manning is a career law enforcement officer who spent twenty-nine years at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Florida before joining the Bluffton Police Department in 2013 as deputy chief, and ultimately rising to chief of police.
“My family and I have been visiting Sevierville for the past twenty years and we have good friends in the area,” Chief Manning said. “I am honored to have been chosen as Sevierville’s next chief and am looking forward to meeting and working with the citizens of this great community.”
“Chief Manning’s extensive and diverse law enforcement experience, which includes being chief at a city with similar tourism challenges, will serve our police department and community well,” said City Administrator Russell Treadway. “We’re fortunate to have him as our new chief.”
Chief Manning is expected to begin working at the city on or about May 14.
Manning is no stranger to controversy, either.
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article208234514.html
An excerpt:
—Under Manning’s leadership, the department has faced criticism for its unusually high overtime bill of nearly $337,000 during Hurricane Matthew, including five-figure payouts each to Manning and Reynolds; for paying overtime to officers who were accused of drinking on duty, which Manning characterized as something that, if true, had been done using good judgment; for its policing practices after an experienced detective led an operation that resulted in an improper arrest outside of Bluffton’s jurisdiction; and for its hiring practices.—
I wish us Sevierville residents the best of luck.