“I was born and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi. I’ve lived in Tennessee for approximately 22 years and currently live in Lebanon.”
Married, children?
“I’ve been married for 24 years and have three handsome sons, ages 22, 12 and 8.”
Education?
“Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Western Governor’s University.”
What was your first job?
“Cashier at a fast-food restaurant.”
Why did you get into law enforcement?
“I was born with a heart to serve, and I believe this is the field of work that God sent me to be of service.”
Has law enforcement always been your career?
“Yes. I started out with Metro Nashville Emergency Communications Center and spent four years there before coming to MJPD.”
How long have you worked at MJPD?
“Seventeen years. My first job there was as a dispatcher/call-taker. I have been supervisor for approximately seven years. (Editor’s Note: Evans was named MJPD Supervisor of the Year in 2020 and 2024).”
What is the communications center?
“The Communications Center is a central facility responsible for receiving and managing emergency and non-emergency calls and coordinating the response to those calls.”
Is this 911 dispatch?
“We do not take the initial 911 call. The Wilson County 911 Center receives the initial call to verify jurisdiction and then transfers the call to the correct agency within Wilson County.”
What are your duties?
“I oversee the communications personnel; manage shift schedules, ensuring adequate staffing levels to handle call volume at all times; supervise the dispatch process to ensure the correct allocation of resources (police, fire, EMS, etc.) based on the nature and urgency of the call. I also assess staff performance, conduct evaluations and provide feedback to improve efficiency and service quality. I supervise 16 employees.”
Do you take calls as part of your job?
“Yes, this can be a part of my job should the need arise.”
What shift do you work?
“It varies sometimes due to Communications being a 24/7 operation, but most days are 7 a.m.-3 p.m.”
What generally is the percentage of emergency calls vs. non-emergency?
“I would say approximately 40 percent emergency and 60 percent non-emergency.”
Variety of calls you (or your employees) get on a typical day?
“Medical calls, reckless drivers, burglary and fire alarms, wrecks, and general crimes against persons and property.”
What is the most impactful emergency call you’ve run across in the past five years?
“It was the tornado in 2020. It was mass devastation, and each call was impactful as several people needed help that night and for several days after. The response from MJPD was amazing.”
How do people know when it’s an emergency?
“When a threat to life, health, property, or public safety requires immediate intervention. (Editor’s note: MJPD non-emergency number is (615) 754-2550, extension 0 for dispatch).”
What type of training is needed?
“Basic telecommunications training, police, medical, and fire dispatch certification, TCPR certification, NCIC and TIES certification.”
Do you supervise the Nixle notifications?
“No. This is handled primarily by Deputy Chief Tyler Chandler.”
Best piece of advice you’ve received or given?
“Always put God first and remain humble.”
Hobbies?
“Reading, playing games with my kids and listening to music.”
If you could spend an evening with anyone, past or present, who and why?
“I would love to spend an evening with Jesus Christ. I’d ask for a master class on navigating life.”
Current obsession?
“My family. It is my absolute goal right now to be a better wife, mother, daughter and sibling to my family. This means taking better care of myself.”
What do you do to relieve stress from job?
“Music is a major stress relief for me. I love all genres of music and can genuinely get lost in it. Exercising has also become a good strategy for relieving work stress.”
QUAY COUNTY, N.M. (KFDA) – The Tucumcari Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center says 911, the non-emergency line and all radios are down in the area.
This is impacting both Quay and Harding counties.
This also includes the Conchas Dam area.
If you need police, fire or EMS, you can call dispatch cell phones at (575) 403-9103. If you call 911, the call will go through to New Mexico State Police.
WASHINGTON, March 20, 2025 – Judges declined Wednesday to pause the Federal Communications Commission’s order giving AT&T’s FirstNet access to portions of the 4.9 GigaHertz band.
“Movants have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” a three-judge panel from the D.C. Court of Appeals said in a unanimous order.
The National Sheriff’s Association and San Francisco’s public transit agency, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), had asked judges to put the October 2024 order on hold while legal challenges play out.
The order would allow FirstNet to access unassigned parts of the 4.9 GHz band, currently set aside for local public safety users, after the selection of a band manager who would be authorized to enter a sharing agreement with the nationwide first responder network. Other wireless carriers and consumer groups had pushed back against the plan, arguing in part that it would effectively hand billions of dollars to AT&T, which can use dormant FirstNet spectrum as part of its contract.
The 4.9 GHz band has useful characteristics for 5G networks, and the carriers have been starved of additional airwaves since the FCC’s ability to hold spectrum auctions expired in March 2023. AT&T supported the sheriffs and BART had asked for a stay in part because the FCC is asking current 4.9 GHz users, which both groups are, to change their existing geographic licenses in the band to site-specific licenses by June 9, 2025.
The groups argued that wasn’t enough time to marshall the time and manpower necessary for the required engineering studies at every tower site a user operated, and that taking all currently unassigned airwaves off the table interfered with planned expansions.
“This would strand the public’s investment, while also likely putting several state and local public safety entities back near square one in achieving their emergency communication capabilities,” the sheriff’s association wrote in its motion.
BART claimed it would have to delay and potentially restart its ongoing construction of a new train control system.
The FCC argued in a reply brief that the conversion of licenses “will not affect the scope of incumbent licensees’ existing operations.”
As for BART’s case, “the Commission has made clear that it will entertain waiver petitions in ‘special circumstances,’” the FCC argued. “BART, to date, has not asked for a waiver.”
BART had acknowledged the potential for a waiver in its filing, but said it didn’t believe the agency would “meaningfully consider” its concerns.
The order that got the process of allowing FirstNet into the band came down under previous FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, but current Chairman Brendan Carr supported them at the time.
Both the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure, backed by Verizon and T-Mobile and opposed to the plan, and the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA), led by a former FirstNet executive and in favor of the plan, sued the FCC over its order.
CERCI wants it scrapped, arguing the FirstNet doesn’t have legal authority to operate in bands outside its initial charter, and PSSA wants FirstNet to get access to the airwaves even quicker.
Brandon McClintock has been named executive director of the Jasper County 911 dispatch center by the Jasper County Emergency Services board of directors.
The board said McClintock has a 17-year history with the center and has extensive experience in emergency communication, strategic planning and public safety operations.
“We are thrilled to welcome Brandon into this leadership role,” Greg Dagnan, chair of the Jasper County Emergency Services Board, said in a statement. “His deep understanding of our operations, commitment to excellence, and passion for serving our community make him the ideal choice to guide our emergency communications center into the future.”
As executive director, McClintock will oversee the day-to-day operations of the 911 center.
ST. PAUL — The Minnesota House Public Safety Committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would require local law enforcement to report an individual arrested for a violent offense to ICE and to cooperate in data sharing with federal immigration authorities.
The bill, HF16 , sponsored by Max Rymer, R-North Branch, would require local law enforcement to inform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, when an undocumented individual is arrested on suspicion of committing a crime of violence”, even if the county elects not to file charges. The bill also makes it illegal for officials to restrict the release of individual immigration status data to federal immigration authorities or to establish any policy that would limit local law enforcement officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
“The motive for this bill is to open up a line of communication between local authorities and dealing with dangerous criminals who should not be in our community,” Rymer said in committee on Wednesday, March 12. “Right now, we find ourselves at a moment where you have local officials who are openly defying immigration enforcement and language around it, from the Minneapolis mayor, to the Hennepin County prosecutor.”
Minneapolis and St. Paul in February joined other cities across the country in declaring themselves “ sanctuary cities ” and joining a San Francisco lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The sanctuary cities have asserted that local law enforcement will not cooperate with federal immigration efforts.
Todd Barnette, Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner testified in opposition to the bill, arguing it would erode public trust.
“Many people may avoid accessing essential services such as health care, education and social services if they fear that these interactions might expose them to immigration enforcement,” Barnette said in the committee. “This bill will result in decreased safety for Minneapolis and its residents, and it would directly impact the trust that the public and residents have with the city and with our city staff and officers.”
12 counties across Minnesota have also declared themselves “ sanctuary counties ” for immigrants: Anoka, Cottonwood, Dakota, Hennepin, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lincoln, Lyon, Nobles, Pipestone, Ramsey and Watonwan, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
Opponents of HF16 to limit non-cooperation with federal immigration protest before the bill’s hearing on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
Rep. Elliot Engen, R-Lino Lakes, argued that this bill would enhance public trust.
“When we’re saying that it’s going to break down public safety, that it’s going to break down community trust, it’s only going to improve that, because if those people are in our communities implementing those acts, we don’t want them there,” Engen said. “We don’t want those people free to roam and create more victims of Minnesotans.”
Ben Gleekel with the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said before the committee on Wednesday that since HF16 says that anyone “arrested” not “convicted” of a violent offense should be reported to federal immigration, the bill would erode due process rights.
Rep. Sandra Feist, DFL-New Brighton, said in committee that this bill perpetuates ideas that immigrants are inherently a “public safety threat.” Feist referenced written testimony by David Beir, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, a policy research organization in Washington, D.C, which found that immigrants are 1.2% less likely to commit serious crimes than U.S.-born individuals.
The bill, which drew about 20 protesters outside the hearing room on Wednesday, passed 10-9 along party lines and now moves to the Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee.
Minnesota has an estimated 81,000 non-citizens at risk of deportation according to the Migration Policy Institute. The state’s total immigrant population, documented and undocumented, is just under 500,000
or 9% of the state’s population, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
