Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-101 (2026)

As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:

• (1) "Campus police officer" means a person commissioned by an employing institution and rendered an oath to provide police services, enforce law, exercise arrest authority and carry firearms in accordance with § 49-7-118;

• (2) "Choke hold" means an intentional use of pressure or constriction to the neck, throat, or windpipe intended to inhibit breathing;

• (3) "Full-time police officer" means any person employed by any municipality or political subdivision of the state of Tennessee whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime, and the apprehension of offenders, and whose primary source of income is derived from employment as a police officer;

• (4) "Part-time police officer," "temporary police officer," "reserve police officer," or "auxiliary police officer" means any person employed by any municipality or any political subdivision of the state of Tennessee whose primary responsibility is to support the full-time police officer in the prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders, and assisting in the prosecution of offenders for appropriate remuneration in measure with specifically assigned duties or job description. Part-time police officers shall work not more than twenty (20) hours per week, for a total of not more than one hundred (100) hours per month. Any police officer who works in excess of the maximum hours as specified in this subdivision (3) shall be reclassified to a full-time status and must meet all requirements for standards and training as mandated under the law and peace officer standards and training commission rules. In any situation where an officer is temporarily assigned, for a period of one (1) month or less, to work more than twenty (20) hours per week, for a total of not more than one hundred (100) hours per month, the officer shall not be reclassified to a full-time status;

• (5) "Private special deputy" means a person who is employed and compensated by a resort area owner or management company to act as security and law enforcement for the resort area and whose qualifications and training requirements are equivalent to or superior to those required for a law enforcement officer under the standards established by the peace officer standards and training commission for law enforcement officers;

• (6) "Public safety officer" means a person who, in addition to being a commissioned campus police officer under § 49-7-118(i)(1), performs other significant duties such as certified firefighter, medical first responder or other tasks associated with homeland security based on the needs of a particular institution; and

• (7)
  • (A) "Special deputy" means any person who is assigned specific police functions as to the prevention and detection of crime and general laws of this state on a volunteer basis, whether working alone or with other police officers;
  • (B) Any police officer working on a volunteer basis shall receive no pay or benefits, except for honorariums, and may be utilized for an unlimited number of hours.

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 489, s 2, eff. 5/18/2021.

Acts 1981, ch. 455, § 3; T.C.A., § 38-11-101; Acts 1983, ch. 270, § 1; 1988, ch. 968, § 1; 1989, ch. 138, § 1; 1990, ch. 1094, § 1; 1993, ch. 374, § 1; 2006, ch. 862, § 1; 2009 , ch. 190, § 1.