The Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission on Jan. 17 approved a package of routine personnel waivers, academy reassignments, six‑month training waivers and salary-supplement corrections and carried its consent agenda, while denying one criminal-record waiver request.

The actions were clustered early and midmeeting and were handled mostly by motion, second and voice vote. Chair Faulkner opened the meeting and members confirmed a quorum before the packet of routine items was considered. Commissioners repeatedly approved motions “all in favor say aye,” with no detailed roll-call tallies recorded in the transcript for most items.

Why it matters: These motions affect hiring, academy attendance and certification status for dozens of local agencies across Tennessee and keep officers and agencies in compliance with POST rules and training timelines.

Key outcomes and items approved
- Decertification subcommittee results (informal hearings): the commission voted to accept the subcommittee’s recommendations, which included continuing/deferred actions and decertifications by default for listed officers; motion to approve carried by voice vote.
- Pre-employment/criminal-record waivers approved: the commission approved a waiver for Jesse Lynn Potter (Elizabethton Police Department) following testimony from Potter and Chief Shaw; it also approved a waiver for Nicholas William Schultz (Tennessee State Parks/Indian Mountain State Park) after presentation by Mike Douglas. Both applicants had prior underage‑drinking convictions the records show; the commission recorded that court-ordered fines and fees had been satisfied.
- Change-of-academy and academy‑reassignment waivers approved: the commission approved waiver requests that allow officers who did not complete one academy to attend another (examples in the transcript include Corey Justin Chase, Jeffrey Ralph Lambert and others), typically because of financial hardship, medical reasons, or family obligations.
- Six‑month waivers (class‑availability delays) approved: the commission approved numerous six‑month waivers that permit newly hired officers to delay academy attendance because classes were full or due to deployments/medical issues (examples in the transcript include Jay Thomas Conrad, Donald Wayne Buffkin III, and others).
- In‑service/leave waivers approved: Vanderbilt University Police Department requested a waiver for Tiffany Alexander to remain in compliance after medical leave; the commission approved the waiver after Major Horace Lanier explained she had completed partial in‑service training and would return to complete firearms training.
- Salary supplement corrections approved: the commission approved retroactive salary supplements for officers inadvertently left off 2023 rosters, including Fentress County and Memphis Police Department entries; the commission clarified the money comes from the current year’s allotment.
- Administrative closure: the commission approved administrative closure of one long‑dormant case (Matthew Allen Sheldon), based on staff review showing the subject has not worked in Tennessee since 2013.

Notable denial
- Wilson County request for criminal‑record waiver for Zachary Kyle Phan: the commission moved to deny the waiver and the motion carried by voice vote. Commissioners discussed the underlying vehicular‑assault and contributing‑to‑dependency charges and reviewed the arrest and driving‑record material during the hearing; the transcript records the denial vote.

Consent agenda and other housekeeping
- The full consent agenda was approved by motion and voice vote.

What the record shows and what it does not
- Most votes were recorded by unanimous voice vote (“aye”); the transcript does not provide individual roll‑call vote tallies or recorded nay votes for the majority of routine items. Where the transcript records a named mover or seconder, that information is summarized above. Detailed individual roll calls are not included in the meeting transcript for the routine approvals.

Ending: The commission completed the routine business portion of the agenda and moved on to contested disciplinary settlements and other new business later in the meeting.