CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The consolidation of Clarksville’s and Montgomery County’s E-911 dispatch centers, which has been in the works since at least 2018, has fallen through, according to Clarksville’s chief of police.

The decision to keep the departments separate was made by Police Chief David Crockarell in mid-March, and he announced it at the most recent E-911 District Board meeting on March 17.

Chief’s decision

The attempt to consolidate city dispatchers – who work under CPD to dispatch for police and Clarksville Fire Rescue – with the E-911 Center was suggested several years ago, long before Crockarell was sworn in as chief of police in 2020, Scott Beaubien, CPD spokesman, told Clarksville Now.

“After careful consideration, the decision was made that the City of Clarksville dispatchers would not consolidate with the E-911 Center and will continue to be city employees dispatching for CPD and CFR,” Beaubien said.

“As Chief of Police, I have done my due diligence considering what is in the best interest for my employees and the citizens of Clarksville. Clarksville Police dispatchers will not be consolidating with E-911,” Crockarell said in a statement to Clarksville Now.

According to Beaubien, several aspects of the consolidation were weighed.

The main reasons were maintaining accountability of how calls for service are dispatched for CPD and CFR, and the employees’ desire to remain under CPD, with city benefits.

Linda Gerron, city spokeswoman, said that Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts was involved in the decision-making process.

“Chief Crockarell is part of the City, and the appropriate city representatives, such as the mayor, Chief Crockarell, and (Clarksville Fire) Chief (Freddie) Montgomery, were all involved in the decision-making process,” Gerron told Clarksville Now.

Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson and County Mayor Jim Durrett declined requests for comment, and E-911 Board Chair Elisabeth Henley did not respond to a request for comment.

E-911 Director Hope Petersen did not respond to requests for comment either.

Consolidation efforts

Efforts have been underway to consolidate the departments for at least four years, and under the direction of at least two E-911 directors and two chiefs of police.

Under the current system, a caller to 911 speaks with an E-911 dispatcher. If it’s a CPD or CFR call, the E-911 dispatcher contacts a city dispatcher, who then connects with police or fire resources.

Under consolidation, all of this would happen in the same agency.

In January 2021, Petersen, who was leading the consolidation project, asked the E-911 Board if a consolidation committee could be set up to start going over numbers and come up with recommendations.

A committee was established with members from the city, county and E-911 Board, and they began working on cost estimates for consolidation.

At the May 2021 E-911 Board meeting, Petersen announced she and Crockarell were looking at Fiscal Year 2023 for finalizing consolidation.

In June 2021, the board passed a yearlong interlocal agreement with the City of Clarksville in the amount of $57,365 for shared costs and services of dispatching, according to meeting minutes.

Clarksville Now has requested the most recent interlocal agreement between the city and county for emergency services.

Most recently, at February’s E-911 Board meeting, consolidation efforts appeared to be moving along. Petersen said she had set up a meeting with the county’s HR department to see what services from them would look like if the departments were to consolidate.

The board’s March meeting minutes, when Crockarell announced his decision to withdraw, have not been finalized, Petersen said.

City dispatch concerns

Throughout her tenure as director of E-911, Petersen has been a controversial figure.

While Beaubien told Clarksville Now that Crockarell’s decision had nothing to do with Petersen, documents obtained during a Clarksville Now investigation into claims of a hostile workplace at E-911 indicated that some city dispatchers do not want to work with her.

During a county HR investigation in the fall of 2020 conducted as a result of complaints about Petersen’s conduct, nine employees of CPD’s dispatch center were interviewed. Several said that if the consolidation were to move forward, they would leave their positions, according to the Formal Grievance Report against Petersen.

Three of the nine city dispatchers surveyed specifically said they would leave, if they could afford to, because they didn’t want to work under Petersen.

All nine city employees said there was low morale at E-911.

“I love what I do for the city, and if Hope becomes my boss I am leaving,” one said in documents obtained by Clarksville Now.