Lenoir City introduces new school resource officers as chief defends license-plate readers

Lenoir City’s police chief introduced the district’s School Resource Officer (SRO) team on July 23, naming Lieutenant Jeremy Dischner as SRO lead and Sergeant Jordan Samuels as team supervisor while announcing several new officers who will be assigned across the district.

Chief Bryant told the school board the SRO reorganization places the team under lieutenant supervision and introduced officers Kevin Parks (elementary assignment), Chris Stavros (high school), Bobby Hamilton (high school), and Donnie Carroll (returning to the high school). “They solve crimes and they…solve crimes that sometimes wouldn’t get solved,” Bryant said, urging the board and community to see SROs as a public-safety asset.

Bryant also updated the board on school-zone traffic enforcement: he said the city approved a change that raised the school-zone speed limit from 15 to 20 mph in certain areas and that the district is contracting for automated speed enforcement equipment. The chief said his office now expects the vendor equipment and radar systems in place by the end of next month and that the district plans to publicize and start enforcement around January 27, 2027, to avoid launching mid-semester.

On the community privacy debate over license-plate reader (LPR) technology, Bryant framed the tools as law-enforcement resources that “are impactful” and that local homeowners’ associations and private entities also deploy similar systems. He said state-level discussion of LPR deployment is expected in the upcoming legislative session and that the State Police Chiefs Association supports maintaining existing systems.

The board did not take any formal policy action regarding LPRs at this meeting; the chief’s remarks served as an operational update and introduction of personnel.