Sheriff Austin Garrett was sworn in as the 60th Sheriff of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, September 1, 2022.

Prior to being elected Sheriff, he was appointed to serve as Chief Deputy by his predecessor, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond in February 2019. As Sheriff, he leads and directs the administration and operations of the 4th largest Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee, comprised of 540 employees and operating under a $65 million budget. As the 4th largest county in Tennessee, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for a jurisdiction spanning 576 square miles and over 369,000 citizens.

Sheriff Garrett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Bethel University, is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 273, and graduated from the Southeastern Command and Leadership Academy Session 11. Sheriff Garrett also serves as a board member for the Forgotten Child Fund that annually provides Christmas gifts to over 10,000 local children, as well as YCAP,

Crime Stoppers, and the Hamilton County 911 Board. He also serves on the legislative committee for the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Deputy, Sheriff Garrett served 25 years with the Chattanooga Police Department, serving in numerous positions, including Patrol Officer, Detective, FBI Safe-Streets Taskforce Officer, Motor Officer, and Patrol Sergeant. He retired as a lieutenant, where he was responsible for command of the Tactical and Traffic Operations Division encompassing 13 specialized units.

Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett officially announced the appointment of Spencer Daniels to the position of Chief Deputy on June 26, 2024. A 26-year law enforcement veteran, Chief Deputy Daniels serves as the second in command of the HCSO. He has served in numerous leadership positions throughout our agency since joining the HCSO in 2003 from the Signal Mountain Police Department.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Deputy, Chief Daniels served as the Captain of Uniform Services and Special Operations. In this role, he oversaw all front-line law enforcement services, as well as Training & Professional Development, Motor Fleet, Records, Tactical Operations, Uniform Special Operations, the School Resource Deputy Unit, and Judicial Security Operations.

Chief Daniels has also served as a patrol lieutenant and lieutenant over Training & Professional Development, where he reorganized the unit and implemented more hands-on, scenario-based training. Chief Daniels also instituted the Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) as an alternative method to end pursuits and initiated a strong focus on employee wellness and physical fitness. He is a certified instructor in several disciplines specializing in emergency vehicle operations, use of force techniques and applications, and firearms training.

The chief has also served as a patrol sergeant, patrol deputy, Field Training Program Coordinator, Dignitary Protection Team member, and Honor Guard Coordinator. During his time as Honor Guard Coordinator, he re-organized the unit in 2008 to deliver a higher level of respect to deceased members of the agency and to represent the Office of Sheriff at official events.

As a member of the Tennessee Public Safety Network’s Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Team, he has used his training to assist public safety personnel statewide affected by critical incidents. One of his proudest achievements is serving on the HCSO SWAT Team for seventeen years, including four years as the team’s commander.

Chief Daniels, a native of Harrison, Tennessee, is a Central High School graduate and earned his bachelor's degree from Bethel University. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in public safety management. He is an alumnus of the Southeastern Command and Leadership Academy at the University of Tennessee and the FBI National Academy, Session 289. Chief Daniels is also a Brock Fellow and graduate of the 10 Project Leadership Program. Before starting his law enforcement career, he served in the U.S. Air Force.

Chief Daniels' mother and most of his family are natives of the greater Chattanooga area, while his father immigrated to the United States from Pakistan in 1969. He is married to his wife, Sarah, and they currently reside in the Birchwood community of Hamilton County.

Deputy Chief of Law Enforcement Mark Hooper was officially promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief on June 25, 2024. With forty years of service at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Chief Hooper oversees the day-to-day operations of Law Enforcement Services which includes Uniformed Services, Investigative Services, Judicial Security Services, School Resource Deputy Unit, and Special Operations.

Throughout his notable career, Deputy Chief Hooper has held roles in Uniformed Services, Investigative Services, and Narcotics and Special Investigations, rising from Patrol Deputy to Captain. Notable achievements include founding the nationally recognized Pharmacy Alert Program and leading initiatives like the integration and expansion of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (drones) throughout our operations. In 2016, he oversaw the training and the deployment of Naloxone to Hamilton County deputies, which was one of the first agencies in Tennessee to provide this capability. In 2017, he led the initiative in tracking Heroin and Fentanyl overdoses in Hamilton County and pursuing prosecution of traffickers.

Since his promotion to Captain in 2018, Chief Hooper has been a driving force in the adoption of new technology within the Sheriff’s Office. He has championed the use of body-worn cameras, data analytics, the creation of our Crime Intelligence and Analyst Unit (CIAU), and enhanced communication systems.

Born and raised in Whitwell, Tennessee, Chief Hooper is a 2014 graduate of the University of Tennessee Southern Command & Leadership Academy. He is married to Stacy Enloe Hooper and his son, Reeves.

Deputy Chief Shaun Shepherd is a lifelong resident of Hamilton County, growing up in East Ridge, and graduating from East Ridge High School. He has been employed with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for more than 31 years.

He began his time with the agency as an Explorer in Law Enforcement Post 2070 and began working as a Corrections Deputy in 1990. He was promoted to Deputy Chief in 2021 and placed in command of Corrections Services.

Prior to his promotion to Deputy Chief, Chief Shepherd served as the Captain over the HCSO Youth & Community Services, which included the School Resource Deputy Unit, Homeland Security Community Awareness, and the Emergency Operations Incident Command Team. He served six years as the School Resource Deputy at Chattanooga Central High School and additionally worked for four years as a supervisor within Uniformed Services before returning to more than 14 years of service as the administrating supervisor for the School Resource Deputy Unit from 2007 to 2021.

He has also served on the Hostage Negotiations Team and an instructor for the HCSO Office of Training & Professional Standards. He has attended various training courses in law enforcement education that includes graduating from The Southeast Command and Leadership Academy (S.E.C.L.A.), been a presenter of special topics at varied seminars, gang summits, along with public and law enforcement community forums.

Chief Shepherd holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Ron Bernard was appointed Chief of Staff by Sheriff Austin Garrett in 2020. Prior to his appointment as Chief of Staff, he served as the Director of Technology and Finance under former Sheriff Jim Hammond. As Chief of Staff, he is responsible for leading Administrative Services which includes Facilities Maintenance, Finance, Information Services, Human Resources, Legal, Recruiting and Special Projects.

Although Ron has been with the HCSO seventeen years as of June 2024, he has over thirty years of professional experience, including twenty plus of those years leading high performing technology teams and has overseen several multimillion-dollar projects

Throughout his tenure with the HCSO, Ron has witnessed the growth of innovation and technology use, personnel growth, and his efforts have been instrumental in implementing the strategic transitional role that administrative services play in our agency’s day-to-day operations.

In 2020, he was appointed by former Sheriff Jim Hammond to oversee the Silverdale Detention Center Transition Team which successfully led a monumental project to transition the Silverdale Detention Center from private control to full operational oversight of the HCSO. This also included the shuttering of the old downtown jail and the transitioning of its operations and inmates to the Silverdale Detention Center, now known as the Hamilton County Jail & Detention Center.

Ron played a vital role when Sheriff Garrett and Mayor Wamp implemented a historic pay increase and maintained a previously implemented pay matrix for HCSO sworn employees. In 2024 under Sheriff Garrett and Ron’s leadership the HCSO has completely reversed a negative personnel attrition rate.

Ron holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Bryan College majoring in organizational management and an Associate of Computer Science degree from Lakeland Community College. Ron and his wife Belinda have four children, daughters Meg and Sara and sons Sam and Scotty. Ron and Belinda have made the Chattanooga area their home since 2002.

Brian Bush serves as the second General Counsel for the HCSO in our agency’s more than 200 year history. He is a proud Hamilton County native.

General Counsel Bush received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Maryville College, in Maryville, TN.

Prior to joining the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office as General Counsel, Bush served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Hamilton County District Attorney General’s Office prosecuting violent crimes and felonies. Most recently, his practice involved civil litigation as an attorney at the firm of Spears, Moore, Rebman, & Williams, P.C.

General Counsel Bush is also a commissioned intelligence officer, serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He serves his community on various boards, and he is dedicated to serving the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

Matt Lea serves as the Public Relations Manager for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Public Relations Office. This includes promoting the agency’s operations, communicating with members of the media, social media content and brand management, marketing, event coordination, and other public activities involving the men and women of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

Mr. Lea began his career at the HCSO in 2015 when he was appointed Public Information Officer by former Sheriff, Jim Hammond. In 2018, he was appointed Public Relations Manager overseeing the newly created Public Relations Office which includes one full-time Public Information Officer

Mr. Lea’s background includes a notable career in public and government relations positions within the local, state, and federal government as well as the field of corporate communications.

Prior to working for the HCSO, he served in public relations positions in the Tennessee Legislature working for former Tennessee Senate Minority Leader David Fowler, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and former Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield. After leaving public service he transitioned to the private sector in 2013 where he served as the Manager of Communications and Human Resource Development for North America for the global German logistics corporation, Schnellecke Logistics, based in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Mr. Lea holds a degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Matt is married to his wife Sharon and together they have two daughters, Madison and Arabella, and son, James Henry. They reside in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee.

Kacey Picou serves as Executive Administrative Assistant to Sheriff Austin Garrett and the Chief Deputy. She is responsible for managing a variety of administrative related operations including maintaining the Sheriff’s schedule, organizing appointments and meetings, assisting in event planning, and communicates with the general public and internal staff on a daily basis. She is also responsible for supervising an administrative team who serve as the first contacts the public speak with when contacting the Sheriff’s administrative offices. Kacey Picou has been with the HCSO since 2012. Prior to her promotion to Executive Administrative Assistant in 2015, she worked in the HCSO Criminal Records Office and Information Technology Services.

A native of Louisiana, Kacey moved to Hamilton County in 2000. She was a former small business owner in the Chattanooga and Hamilton County area for over a decade during which time, she was active member of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce

Kacey enjoys serving her community and supporting the Sheriff and the men and women of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on a daily basis.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications.