Monroe County Sheriff’s Department welcomes four new officers

MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) –  A Northeast Mississippi sheriff has his department fully staffed, barely three months after taking office.

For Monroe County Sheriff Deputy Trevor Stegall, police work is in his blood.

“My uncles, cousins, everyone is in it, I’ve seen the good they’ve done, growing up and I wanted to be a big part of that,” Deputy Stegall said.

Deputy Stegall is one of four new hires at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. He and Deputy Chelsea Chapman graduated from the North Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Center in Tupelo, while Deputy Dylan Pickle graduated from the Mississippi Delta Law Enforcement Training Academy in Moorhead.

The training was intense.

“I prepared myself a little bit beforehand, mentally was the big challenge for sure, I had never been in a high-stress situation like that,” Deputy Chapman said.

Rounding out the newest members of the sheriff’s office is 46-year-old Tyrone Heard. He once worked for the Tupelo Police and was hired as a school resource officer after retiring from the Army.

“It was a blessing, in January, I was sitting around wondering what I was going to do, so the opportunity came about from the sheriff, haven’t looked back since,” Heard said.

Officer Heard enjoys working with students and is ready to get back into the schools when the coronavirus pandemic has run its course.

“I want to make a difference in the kids’ lives, someone they can talk to and trust, just trying to be a positive role model,” Heard said.

Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook knows his newest deputies have all received top-notch training, and he also wants to instill the importance of leadership from the top down.

“I know they just got out of the academy but I expect them to learn and grow in their leadership ability because we will need them in the future, to take over and lead,” Sheriff Crook said.

The sheriff gave the three recent academy graduates a book on leadership. All of the newest law officers are ready to make a difference.

“Getting out and doing what I can to make Monroe County better,” said Deputy Pickle.

The three recent academy graduates will be with a field training officer for the next 15 weeks.