POST approves 12‑month agreed probation for Johnson City officer after NCIC misuse

The Tennessee POST on May 16 approved an agreed order placing Kelly Elizabeth Young on a 12‑month probationary certification after an informal hearing recommended probation rather than decertification.

Post staff said Young was employed by the Johnson City Police Department from Jan. 1, 2021, until she resigned in lieu of termination on Jan. 31, 2025. The agreed order was presented to the commission on April 29, 2025, and would require monthly updates during the probationary period. Commissioners on the informal committee said they struggled with the case because post‑investigative findings indicated Young accessed the NCIC database multiple times in what a committee member described as “almost, like, a stalking situation.”

The transcript records that Young was contrite and apologetic; some commissioners said the sheriff’s letter supporting her and a lack of criminal charges by the district attorney’s office influenced their vote. One commissioner described the action as a compromise by the informal committee in lieu of outright decertification.

A motion to approve the agreed order was made, seconded and carried by voice vote. Commissioners noted that if Young were to leave her current employing agency, her certification would terminate with her departure and the probationary monitoring would end.

Provenance (transcript excerpts) - topicintro: block_id="2964.56" local_start=0 local_end=8 evidence_excerpt:"Agreed order of probation for Kelly Elizabeth Young. Miss Young was employed by the Johnson City Police Department from 01/01/2021 until she resigned in lieu of termination on 01/31/2025." reason_code="topicintro" - topfinish: block_id="3244.19" local_start=0 local_end=14 evidence_excerpt:"I was expecting the motion, say aye. Leave them soon." reason_code="topicfinish"