Monterey Police officials warning that a shortage of deployable patrol has forced officers to work 12-hour solo shifts every day.
Resident Marty Walker spoke to the Board of Aldermen Monday night. He said the department currently has only six deployable patrolmen available to cover the streets despite having 11 sworn positions in the budget. Walker said the shortage resulted from a combination of a recent resignation, an officer on medical leave, and a recruit currently attending the police academy.
“In July, this board approved our budget containing eleven sworn officer positions,” Walker said, “Today, due to an academy recruit, an officer on medical leave, and a resignation, we’re down to just six deployable patrolmen on the street. This forces twelve hours of solo officer patrol every single day, from midnight to noon.”
Walker said the town responded to more than 5,500 calls for service in 2025, with 1,300 of those classified as high-risk. He said 455 of those high-priority calls occurred during the hours when only one officer was on patrol.
“You cannot continually ask people to sacrifice more and more and then act surprised when eventually there isn’t anything left to give,” Heather Walker said. “The least we can do is give them enough manpower so they don’t have to do it alone, and the respect they deserve for doing it for an hourly rate that is laughable.”
Marty Walker said the town cannot rely on mutual aid from other agencies to cover routine shifts because Tennessee law and FEMA standards restrict mutual aid to supplemental disaster relief. He said backup from other jurisdictions is statistically an average of 15 to 20 minutes away.
“Personally, as a wife of an officer, I have reservations when someone suggests that my husband will receive backup that he needs if the occasion arises from the same people who send boxes of inappropriate items to these officers’ homes, the same people who leak our guys’ information on social media,” Heather Walker said. “They may have to walk into a situation without knowing whether backup is two minutes away, five minutes away, or coming at all.”
Marty Walker said the town’s call volume reflects the workload of a city with 12,000 residents rather than its actual population of 3,000. He said 11,000 vehicles enter Monterey daily on state routes, while Interstate 40 sees up to 38,000 vehicles passing through the area each day.
“I’m not asking for 15 positions,” Marty Walker said. “I’m simply asking that you allow us to fill our vacant slot, maintain the 11 officer budget you approved in July, protect our community, and begin looking to the future in a forecasted population and business growth in our town.”
The board took no immediate action on the police staffing request during the meeting.
In other business, State Senator Paul Bailey swore in Monterey’s newly elected leadership Monday night as the town transitioned to a new administration. Chris Landers took the oath of office as mayor, beginning a two-year term. Landers succeeds Alex Garcia, who thanked the community for the opportunity to serve before turning the meeting over to the incoming board.
In other business, State Senator Paul Bailey swore in Monterey’s newly elected leadership Monday night as the town transitioned to a new administration. Chris Landers was sworn in as mayor, while Brian Williams was sworn in as vice mayor. Jim Wolfgram, Spencer Delk and Charlotte Cleary were sworn in as aldermen.