Latest news with #LaVergne
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
La Vergne Police Department launches first-ever drone team
LA VERGNE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The La Vergne Police Department is forming a new drone team to help fight crime in their community. The team currently has eight drones. Five bigger drones will be used for the public and three other drones will primarily be used for training purposes. Detective Steven Crotts started building the groundwork for the team in 2022. As of publication, the team already has three members and they're looking to expand to a team of at least five. Crotts said the drone team is a start to reducing police response times for La Vergne residents. Neighborhood News: Stories impacting your community | Read More 'Missing person, search and rescue, officer safety — as far as clearing buildings or clearing residences when it's needed,' Crotts said. '[It will be] deployed with K9s while we're looking for a suspect that's fled the scene and there's some type of a pursuit — anything like that.' Crotts said he sees the department moving to a drone-as-first-responder approach. Crotts said that the approach involves drones stationed in the city, which would then launch from the area to respond to emergency calls. Within the next five to 10 years, Crotts hopes to expand to a First Response Drone team to continue reducing response times and serving the community more effectively. Do you have news happening in your neighborhood? Let us know by sending an email to neighborhoodnews@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Town hall on immigration, community trust held in La Vergne
LA VERGNE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On Wednesday night, the La Vergne Police Department held a town hall to address immigration policy and build trust between members of the community and members of law enforcement. La Vergne Police Chief Christopher Moews began the meeting with a message to La Vergne residents that he wants to provide transparency between the department and the community. Moews added that at the moment, he senses fear and concern among La Vergne residents about Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity across the mid-state. Moews affirmed that the LVPD's primary focus is public safety, adding that the department has not colluded with any ICE agents on any operations within the city. However, Moews added that both he and other La Vergne officers are bound to follow the law, so they would be required to report anyone without documentation. Neighborhood News: Stories impacting your community | Read More Ultimately, police want residents to be able to report crimes without fear of detention or deportation, which Moews claimed has affected first responders' ability to help in some emergency situations. 'There was an incident in La Vergne involving a small child and we believe — we're not positive — but it's possible that the caretaker didn't call the police for the medical emergency for the child,' Moews says. '…Nobody wants to have a six-month-old pass away just because somebody may have — I'm not saying they did, but may have — feared calling the police because of their immigration status.' News 2 asked Moews for specific details about the case involving the small child and Moews deferred to the District Attorney's Office. News 2 has reached out to both city and county officials for more information. La Vergne Mayor Jason Cole also did not have further details about the case, deferring to the LVPD. Do you have news happening in your neighborhood? Let us know by sending an email to neighborhoodnews@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
La Vergne makes 85 traffic stops on first day of ‘Operation Safe Streets'
LA VERGNE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The La Vergne Police Department kicked off their 'Operation Safe Streets' initiative Monday, leading to more than 80 traffic stops on the first day alone. Now through August, law enforcement in the area will be looking for speeding, reckless driving, hands-free cellphone violations, move over law compliance, and red light/stop sign violations. PREVIOUS | La Vergne announces 'Operation Safe Streets' to focus on traffic enforcement 'My message to the public is clear: when you are in La Vergne, we are going to be out patrolling and making sure people are driving responsibly,' said La Vergne Police Chief Chris Moews. 'I can tell you, preliminary data, La Vergne Police Department made 85 stops yesterday and we're looking further into that data at this point in time and we are collecting data from our partner agencies, Rutherford County Sheriff and THP.' The three agencies will be working together to address problem areas around La Vergne based on crash data and the public's input. On Monday, they focused on 11 hot spots. 'Murfreesboro Road, Industrial Road, we had Holland Ridge, and Dick Buchannan as a couple other, Mason, Chaney Boulevard were also a few of them,' Moews said. 'These were all areas that really the public spoke about and wanted us to react to and we have had some really positive reactions to our efforts.' La Vergne Police Department adds BearCat tactical vehicle to its fleet Last year, the City of La Vergne saw almost 1,100 crashes, with three of them fatal, and 183 injury crashes. 'This is not a ticket initiative, that was made clear, the discretion is given to each individual officer from each department and we just ask that they go out there and make the stops when they see the violations,' Moews added. 'We're trying to do this so that people are driving more safely during our summer months, and this is going to be something that's going to be sporadic throughout the summer on different dates and at different times. La Vergne police will also continue to take feedback from the public on problem areas they'd like to see addressed through their safe streets survey. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
La Vergne announces ‘Operation Safe Streets' to focus on traffic enforcement
LA VERGNE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Police in La Vergne have heard what residents want from the department, and they have kicked off a new level of enforcement in response. The La Vergne Police Department announced this month it would be placing 'an increased focus on traffic enforcement' based on resident concerns. As part of that effort, the LVPD announced 'Operation Safe Streets,' a multi-agency traffic safety initiative with Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. 'Together, we are committed to making our roads safer for you and your family,' the department said in the announcement. Neighborhood News: Stories impacting your community | Read More Along with the operation announcement, LVPD published a link for a survey and asked residents to let the department know which areas of the city need more traffic enforcement and encouraged residents to complete the survey as soon as possible. 'We encourage you to complete the survey as soon as possible,' LVPD said. The survey lists 16 different street groupings residents can choose from as the ones the department needs to devote more time on enforcement. The survey asks residents to choose only three and then rank those three from highest to lowest concern. The official start of the operation will not be announced, according to police, as a way to 'ensure its effectiveness.' Do you have news happening in your neighborhood? Let us know by sending an email to neighborhoodnews@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
