MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — Monday marked a new chapter for the City of Mt. Juliet.

The city cut the ribbon on the brand new police headquarters.

News 2 toured the facility before the event and got to see all the new, unique amenities.

“Today is a huge day for our community, our city, our police department," Mt. Juliet Deputy Police Chief Tyler Chandler said.

Chandler said the department has grown out of the old building, which sits behind the new headquarters.

"When we moved into our current building over 11 years ago, we had about 45 police officers; today we have 86,” Chandler said.

However, Chandler said the 2020 tornado also presented a need for storm shelters. In the new headquarters, there are two storm shelters for the community and first responders. Chandler said the department also has evidence processing space, K-9 kennels, and plenty of training and office space.

“We have an advanced communications center that handles all the police fire and dispatching but also our real time intelligence operations, which is all our LPRs, camera systems and our drones as a first responder,” Chandler said.

He said the MJPD will be the first agency in the state to use drones as first responders. News 2 watched as the drone was being operated over the city in real time.

“We are going to have drones as a first responder where drones are installed in two buildings in our community, and they will be responding first to the scenes to provide building and intelligence back to our responders, so they know exactly what they are responding to,” Chandler said.

Chandler said the new space offers police all the tools they need under one roof, which will serve the community for years to come.

“And we will probably never ever have to build another headquarters, as our city grows, we may need to put a precinct in the south end of town, by the interstate, by our shopping area, but this headquarters will be our headquarters for many, many years,” Chandler said. 

Chandler said the department will slowly move in through November, and he hopes to be fully moved in by the end of the year.

At the time of Monday's interview, Chandler was the Deputy Chief of Police for Mt. Juliet. As of Monday afternoon, he has been named Mt. Juliet Police Chief. He will be sworn in on Monday night at the city commission meeting.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/mt-juliet-police-department-holds-ribbon-cutting-to-open-new-headquarters/