{"data":{"id":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-38-8-301","jurisdiction":"us-tn","citation":"Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-301","heading":"Part definitions","body":"As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) \"Committee\" means a police advisory and review committee; (2) \"Head of a law enforcement agency\" means a chief of police of a municipal police force or a county sheriff, as applicable; (3) \"Internal affairs unit\" means a division of a local law enforcement agency that investigates allegations of misconduct by law enforcement officers employed by the agency; (4) \"Law enforcement officer\" means any person employed by any law enforcement agency of a local government entity, excluding a head of a law enforcement agency, who has a duty imposed by law to: (A) Maintain public order; (B) Make arrests for offenses, whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to specific offenses; and (C) Investigate the commission or suspected commission of offenses; (5) \"Local governing body\" means the city council, city commission, county commission, metropolitan council, or board of mayor and aldermen of a city; (6) \"Local government entity\" means any city, town, municipality, county, including any county having a metropolitan form of government in this state; (7) \"Local law enforcement agency\" means: (A) Within the territory of a municipality, the municipal police force; (B) Within the territory of a county having a metropolitan form of government, the metropolitan police force; or (C) Within the unincorporated territory of a county, the sheriff's office; and (8) \"Mayor\" means the officer vested by either the city or county charter or general law with the executive powers of a local government entity. Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 454, s 1, eff. 7/1/2023. Acts 1989, ch. 398, § 1.\nAs used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:\n(1) \"Committee\" means a police advisory and review committee;\n(2) \"Head of a law enforcement agency\" means a chief of police of a municipal police force or a county sheriff, as applicable;\n(3) \"Internal affairs unit\" means a division of a local law enforcement agency that investigates allegations of misconduct by law enforcement officers employed by the agency;\n(4) \"Law enforcement officer\" means any person employed by any law enforcement agency of a local government entity, excluding a head of a law enforcement agency, who has a duty imposed by law to: (A) Maintain public order; (B) Make arrests for offenses, whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to specific offenses; and (C) Investigate the commission or suspected commission of offenses;\n(A) Maintain public order;\n(B) Make arrests for offenses, whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to specific offenses; and\n(C) Investigate the commission or suspected commission of offenses;\n(5) \"Local governing body\" means the city council, city commission, county commission, metropolitan council, or board of mayor and aldermen of a city;\n(6) \"Local government entity\" means any city, town, municipality, county, including any county having a metropolitan form of government in this state;\n(7) \"Local law enforcement agency\" means: (A) Within the territory of a municipality, the municipal police force; (B) Within the territory of a county having a metropolitan form of government, the metropolitan police force; or (C) Within the unincorporated territory of a county, the sheriff's office; and\n(A) Within the territory of a municipality, the municipal police force;\n(B) Within the territory of a county having a metropolitan form of government, the metropolitan police force; or\n(C) Within the unincorporated territory of a county, the sheriff's office; and\n(8) \"Mayor\" means the officer vested by either the city or county charter or general law with the executive powers of a local government entity.","path":["TN Code","Title 38","Chapter 8"],"source_url":"https://oss-data-us.vaquill.ai/v2026.08/us_tn_statutes.parquet","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:26Z","sha256":"a91bc4cb99567a40e3280382395cdfff8ac6662df32147d353a977b06c3faf90","source_id":"us-tn","stale":false,"prev":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-38-8-207","next":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-38-8-302"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}