I have lived in Gnashville for almost 7 years now.
I always thought the 'Southern Sheriff' was just a standard stereotype...a pot-bellied, beer-drinking, tobacco-drooling & moronic good ol' bwah like they show in the movies...
I have discovered it is NOT a 'stereotype', and is NOT some kind of fictional or otherwise mythological character.
They are REAL.
I saw this in this morning's newspaper on the front page:
Williamson sheriff arrested on drug charges
Headley got 'thousands' of pills, police say
By MITCHELL KLINE
Staff Writer
The man who told Williamson County residents that he would crack down on drugs now faces drug charges of his own.
Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley and a Crieve Hall pharmacy owner were arrested Wednesday on prescription drug fraud charges. Headley was taken into custody by Metro police officers and agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after he came to Brooks Pharmacy on Trousdale Drive in Nashville to pick up a bottle of pills.
Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said the joint investigation between Metro and the TBI had revealed that Headley has received "thousands of Lortab and Soma pills" from the pharmacy without a prescription.
Headley and Glen Brooks, owner of the pharmacy, were to be booked into the Davidson County Jail late Wednesday night, according to Aaron. Headley was to be charged with one felony and one misdemeanor related to controlled substances. Aaron said he did not know the details of those charges, nor did he know what Brooks would be charged with.
Police and TBI agents searched Headley's office in Franklin and his home in the Grassland community Wednesday and searched Brooks' home near Brentwood. The Drug Enforcement Administration also has been involved in the case, Aaron said.
Brooks surrendered his certificate to sell controlled substances.
Metro police have investigated the pharmacy since January 2005, when a 70-year-old employee was found to be distributing and reselling controlled substances.
"During the course of our investigation, we discovered Sheriff Headley was a patron of the pharmacy," Aaron said. "That's when we asked for TBI's involvement because of his career in law enforcement."
Aaron said Headley had been going to the pharmacy for several months. Investigators believe Headley obtained the drugs for personal use and not for resale. Lortab is an addictive painkiller, and Soma is a muscle relaxant used to relieve pain.
Other arrests made
Metro narcotics detectives and TBI agents arrested pharmacy employee Michelle Weathers, 32, on Jan. 20 after she was caught leaving Brooks Pharmacy with a bottle of more than 800 hydrocodone pills stashed in a portable cooler. A search of her purse, automobile and home resulted in the discovery and seizure of hundreds of other pills. Weathers worked at the pharmacy for seven years.
Aaron and a TBI spokeswoman said several other individuals would be charged as the investigation proceeds. A detailed audit of the pharmacy will be conducted. The Internal Revenue Service and the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy will assist, Aaron said.
Headley campaigned on a promise to aggressively go after drug dealers in Williamson County. He proudly announced to civic groups and critics that under his leadership since 2002, Williamson County's drug arrests increased by 150%. He started an interdiction division that uses K-9s to sniff for drugs being transported along Interstates 65 and 40.
Headley could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. Members of the Sheriff's Department declined to comment, and Headley's family could not be located.
County mayor shocked
County Mayor Rogers Anderson said he was shocked by the news.
"I don't know what to say," Anderson said.
Headley was a captain at the Fairview Police Department before he was elected sheriff in 2002.
He beat two-term incumbent Bill LeCates by claiming 57.8% of the votes. Headley was reelected by a 4 to 1 margin, beating challenger Derrell Cagle, in 2006.
Headley liked to play up his image as a small-town sheriff. He played music from The Andy Griffith Show at his swearing in ceremony and invited those who attended to supper.
He told the crowd that "good, old-fashioned, hometown values" still mattered.
He is a musician who sings and plays at churches and community centers nearly every week.
He opened for country legend George Jones when Jones played a concert to benefit the American Red Cross.
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The above seems to be the norm down here. In the past 6 and a half years, there have been MANY law-enforcement officials convicted of lying, stealing, assault, trafficking in drugs, DUI, wife-beating, abusing inmates in their custody, conspiracy, manslaughter and many other various and sundry charges.
Back in Kansas, the state itself sucks ass, but there is not NEARLY the 'good ol' bwah' network there is in The South. It appears that law enforcement officers in that state ACTUALLY OBEY THE LAW...though of course there are some exceptions here or there.
It seems in Tennessee anyway, not a week goes by without some kind of corruption or crimes committed by law-enforcement officals making the headlines. And in most cases it is high-ranking officials like Sheriffs, Police Chiefs, head of the State Highway Patrol, etc.
And of course, scattered around throughout all of these misdeeds are many lawsuits filed by minority law-enforcement officers claiming racism, etc.
Tennessee has many good qualitites as a state, however, elected public officials are more likely to be criminals than yer average Joe. There is a LOT of corruption amongst mayors, aldermen, state representatives, local city councils, etc.
The article above says the 'County Mayor was shocked' when he heard the news.
Christ....the sad bastard is probably shocked the Sheriff got caught.....the fucking County Mayor was probably in on the scam and taking bribes to not say anything.
At least that is the standard pattern around these parts.
It really kinda blows my mind.
There is one TV/Movie Southern Sheriff who scares the crap out of me whenever I see him.
That is from the 'Karate-kid meets The Blues' movie "Crossroads', and the sheriff I am talking about is the character "Sheriff Tilford" played by the actor "John Hancock".
He is a scary motherfucker!
:eek:
Unfortunately, there exists no photos of him at all on the net, which is kind of a shame, as he had an INCREDIBLY busy career as an actor.
But I digress....
Hell, the state oughta have signs at all the state-lines for those entering Tennessee:
"Welcome To Tennessee...the Land Of The Corrupt, the Home Of The Slaves...."
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