Troy Police Department promotes officers

Published 3:00 am Wednesday, July 17, 2019

The Troy Police Department promoted four officers Tuesday to higher ranks during a ceremony at the Troy Municipal Court.

The department promoted Lt. Lee Barnes to captain in the Criminal Investigation Division, Sgt. Brian McLendon to lieutenant in the Criminal Investigation Division, Det. Terry Miles to sergeant in the Criminal Investigation Division, and officer Alex Baggett-Griggs to sergeant on third shift patrol.

“We’re going to put more and more responsibility on them,” said Troy Police Chief Randall Barr. “They’re the future of our department and they’re going to continue making this community a better place to live. It is my privilege and great honor to give them their badges.”

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Each of the officers received new badges, with special family or friends doing the honors of pinning the badges on for the first time.

Barr said officers rely on their families to do their jobs each and every day.

“Family is extremely important to what we do every day,” Barr said. “”We could not be prepared to face the challenges we face every day out on the street without our families as our refuge. They ground you and make you feel settled once again.”

Mayor Jason Reeves thanked the officers for doing great work to help keep Troy citizens safe.

Barnes started with the department as a jailer in 1993 and has been a member of the emergency response team since 1998. He transferred to third shift as a corporal in 2001 and then transferred to a detective position. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2012.

McLendon has served on the emergency response team since 2013 as a sniper and joined the detective division in 2009, when he was promoted to sergeant. He has been named officer of the year twice in the department, including 2019, and has served as pastor of Spring Hill Baptist Church since 2017.

Miles joined the force as a patrol officer in 2002 after working for many years as the manager of Walmart’s sporting goods department. He was certified as a field training officer in 2006, serving as a hostage negotiator. He was named officer of the year in 2014.

Baggett-Griggs graduated from Troy University in 2014 summa cum laude with a degree in music education and was assigned to the Troy Police Department’s special enforcement unit in 2017.