SHARPS CHAPEL, Tenn. — A constable tried to stop a white truck before a head-on collision that killed three people, according to a release by the Tennessee Constables' Association.
WBIR has learned Joshua Scott was one of the people who died in the crash. Scott worked at Green Hills Funeral Home in Middlesboro, Kentucky. He graduated from Hancock County High School in 2019, the home's website said.
"A pursuit is one of the most dangerous undertakings of a law enforcement officer," said Ken Potter, a retired police officer and sheriff's deputy. "No pursuit is the best pursuit."
Potter is a constable in Carter County and trains constables with the East Tennessee Constable Association. He said the risk, in this case, doesn't seem worth the end result: three lives lost.
Before the crash, the release said a constable got reports of a white truck that hit a tree and a mailbox. The truck was speeding, the release said.
"Those things would not, for me personally, trigger a pursuit," Potter said, though he said he doesn't know all of the facts in this case.
Constable John Dennis saw the truck in a parking lot, the release said. Dennis turned on his lights and got out of his cruiser when the truck sped away, according to the release.
"Constable Dennis returned to his vehicle and headed in the direction the vehicle went. Constable Dennis caught a glimpse of the vehicle as it ran the stop sign on Sharps Chapel Rd at Highway 33," the release said.
Dennis then saw the truck collide with a van and catch fire, the release said.
Constables in Tennessee are required to have 40 hours of training. They have the same powers as police officers and sheriff's deputies.
"Forty hours to enforce all of the laws in our state as a law enforcement officer really isn't a lot," said WBIR legal analyst Don Bosch. "You have people acting lawfully as police, but without near the training that most ordinary police officers receive."
Bosch has represented several police officers in cases of misconduct. He said constables don't have any of the oversight of police officers, either.
"Serving court papers is our main role," said Kent Harris, the President of the East Tennessee Constable Association.
Harris said constables also enforce evictions and help in school zones. He said constables need police powers because Tennessee law requires them to check if people have active arrest warrants when serving civil process.
Harris and Potter said they want to see the outcome of the investigation to see whether the pursuit was justified.