Spring Hill, TN – On June 22nd an officer took a call from a Spring Hill citizen concerning a group of individuals who came to his house offering to spread pine straw in his flower beds. They agreed that the service would cost $6 a bale or around $50. After the bales were laid, the customer was told the price was now $1000. The customer ended up giving them $500 and they left. The vehicle the workers were driving had a Georgia temporary license plate. This appears to have been a common scam in Georgia for several years and the workers may now be going to other states. The business may claim that they have “left-over” straw for a “discounted” rate.

Businesses going door to door must obtain a permit from City Hall. They will go through a background check by the police department before City Hall issues a permit. Before you accept services from a door-to-door business, please make sure that they have the proper permit from the City. These types of businesses want you to make a split-second decision. Please take the time to properly research the business name before entering into any type of agreement.

Solicitor permits required.

Georgia news media: video.

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Spring Hill, TN – Officers Robert Gurley and Lance Dorman recently graduated from the 80-hour Police Basic Motorcycle course hosted by the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office. The Department currently has two Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycles with five officers certified to ride them. Congratulations to you both!

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Spring Hill, TN – The Spring Hill Police Department is pleased to announce the recent graduation of Captain Justin Whitwell from the School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC) at Northwestern University. Captain Whitwell has successfully completed the (22) week Staff and Command program held in Evanston, Illinois from September 11, 2023 – February 25, 2024. This program, which was implemented by the Center for Public Safety in 1983, has graduated over 21,000 students both nationally and internationally. Captain Whitwell was a student in SPSC Class #558 which accommodated a total of 24 students for the twenty-two week period.

The School of Police Staff and Command provides upper-level college instruction in a total of twenty-seven core blocks of instruction and additional optional blocks during each session. The major topics of study include: Leadership, Human Resources, Employee Relations, Organizational Behavior, Applied Statistics, Planning and Policy Development, Budgeting and Resource Allocation.

Each student is academically challenged through written examinations, projects, presentations and quizzes in addition to a staff study paper that are all required parts of the curriculum. Upon successful completion, students may be awarded a total of 6 units of undergraduate credit from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

The Center for Public Safety was established at Northwestern University in 1936 with the specific goal of expanding university-based education and training for the Law Enforcement Community. Since its inception, the Center has broadened its original objective and now provides a variety of courses and programs in the area of Police Training, Management Training, and Executive Development.

Captain Whitwell is currently assigned to the Field Operations Division overseeing the department’s patrol and traffic units. Captain Whitwell is a 20-year veteran of the SHPD.

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Spring Hill, TN – In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.

The following officers from Tennessee will be added to the Law Enforcement Memorial:

In total, 148 officers lost their lives in the line of duty in 2024. 345 names will be added to the Memorial in 2025. If you would like to learn more about National Police Week, please follow this link.

SHPD Corporal Jeremy McLaren’s name was engraved in the Memorial in 2011 after he lost his life on February 7th, 2010.

Spring Hill, TN – The SHPD will have extra officers on the road this upcoming Super Bowl weekend to look for impaired drivers. A grant from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office provides overtime for these officers. We encourage all persons to plan now to have a sober ride home. The average DUI charge costs way more than using a ride-share service.

Read more: tntrafficsafety.org/drunk-driving and 24/7 Movement

Spring Hill, TN – The SHPD is proud to announce the promotion of nine SHPD officers: one to the rank of captain, three to the rank of lieutenant, four to the rank of sergeant, and one to the rank of detective. These promotions will be effective October 30th to fill vacancies across all three Department divisions. The Department congratulates each of these officers on their hard work and dedication. We wish you the best in your new positions.

Captain Justin Whitwell is a 19-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to lead the Field Operations Division.

Lieutenant Tommy Barber is an 18-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to lead the D patrol shift.

Lieutenant Geoff Betts is a 17-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to lead the B patrol shift.

Lieutenant Chad Estes is a four-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to lead the C patrol shift.

Sergeant Curtis Floyd is a six-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to the Support Services Division.

Sergeant Meaghan O’Leary is a six-year veteran of the SHPD. She will be assigned to the Field Operations Division.

Sergeant Lee Colvett is a two-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to the Field Operations Division.

Sergeant Daniel Willis is a two-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to the Field Operations Division.

Detective Jonathan Tiller is a two-year veteran of the SHPD. He will be assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division.

Spring Hill, TN – With the 2025-2026 K-12 school year almost here, we wanted to remind the motoring public of applicable law relating to school buses. Tennessee Code Annotated 55-8-151 states in part, “The driver of a vehicle upon a highway shall stop the vehicle before reaching the school bus. The driver shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or is signaled by the school bus driver to proceed or the visual signals are no longer actuated.”

Depending on if you are traveling on a two-lane road, multi-lane road, or divided highway will determine if you need to stop or not. On a two-lane road, everyone stops. On a four-lane highway with a center turn lane, everyone stops. If the four-lane has a divider, like a median or an unpaved area at least 5 feet wide, traffic in the opposite direction can proceed cautiously. Only traffic behind the bus must stop.

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Spring Hill, TN – The City of Spring Hill emergency services (police, fire, and EMS) are dispatched through the Williamson County Emergency Communications Department in Franklin. This includes ALL of Spring Hill, both the Maury and Williamson County sides. The Williamson County Emergency Communications Department has announced that “Text to 911” is available in Williamson County (including the Maury County side of Spring Hill).

Williamson County Emergency Communications and the City of Brentwood Emergency Communications have launched their new collaborative “Text to 911” system, in which users will be able to send text messages to 911 dispatchers, enabling them to request help when a phone call isn’t possible.

This means that if you are within the Williamson County limits, you will be able to text 911 in an emergency. This includes Brentwood, Franklin, Fairview, Nolensville, Thompsons Station, unincorporated areas of the county, and the entire city of Spring Hill, even areas of that city that are in Maury County.

“Calling 911 is still the fastest way to get help,” said City of Brentwood Emergency Communications Supervisor Kathleen Watkins. “Texting takes longer than talking on the phone, and location tracking technology is not the same with texting 911 as with a phone call. Also, voice calls allow for dispatchers to hear background noise that could provide critical information.”

“However, there are many situations where someone is unable to make a voice call for help, and that’s where Text-to-911 comes in,” said Williamson County Director of Emergency Communications Kristy Borden. “Text-to-911 is a great resource for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, have a speech disability, or having a medical emergency where they are unable to speak on the phone. It is also helpful for situations where it may not be safe for someone make a voice call because it would attract attention, such as during a home burglary or domestic violence situation.”

How it works:

• Enter the numbers 911 into the “to” field.
• In the first message, text the location and type of emergency.
• Text in plain English, without abbreviations or slang.
• Respond to questions from the 911 dispatcher.
• Follow instructions the same as a voice call.

For more information, including other frequently asked questions, visit https://williamsonready.org/1944/Emergency-Communications.

Spring Hill, TN- Door-to-door solicitation season is here. We want to take the time to inform citizens about what we can and can’t do regarding solicitors who come to your door. Some neighborhood Home Owner Associations (HOA) have placed “no soliciting” signs at the entrance to these neighborhoods with the expectation that we can enforce these signs if a solicitor enters the area. Unfortunately, we can’t enforce these signs if the solicitor has a permit issued by the City.

Spring Hill Municipal Code Title 9, Chapter 2 requires that any peddler, canvasser, solicitor or transient merchant wishing to do business within the City of Spring Hill obtain a Solicitor/Transient/Vendor Permit. These applications can be found here. These applications are sent to us, and we verify the information the applicant provides. If the City approves the application, the solicitor is issued a permit. If the solicitor has a permit issued by the City, we can’t stop them from soliciting in an HOA neighborhood with a “no soliciting” sign.

Information on the City solicitor permit process.

Now, if the solicitor enters your home without your permission, harasses you, or remains on your property after being told to leave, depending on the facts, we may be able to take enforcement action, depending on the facts.