Chief Deputy Jimmy Edwards has worked in law enforcement for ten years. He started as a patrol officer and went on to work as a criminal investigator and a narcotics investigator. He has brought justice to many victims and safety to many neighborhoods as he has worked hundreds of felony cases including burglaries, armed robberies, murders and drug cases. Five years ago he was promoted to Chief Deputy and continues to be actively involved in investigations. He has received recognition from the State of Tennessee for locating a criminal in 2006 and from Tippah County Sheriff’s Office for apprehending an escapee in 2007. He has training in crime scene and narcotic investigations and has been a speaker with the DARE program in local schools. The most impactful moment of Jimmy Edwards’s law enforcement career was when he met a terrified three-year old boy, one of seven abused and malnourished children who had been held captive in an abusive home. The boy, who longed to be loved and cared for, was drawn to Jimmy the first day they met and proceeded to climb his way into Jimmy’s lap and into his heart. During the year that followed, Jimmy and his wife began to visit the boy on weekends and became foster parents. In April, 2009, they adopted little Edwin. The two people responsible for the abuse, the Bareto’s, are currently fugitives; Chief Deputy Edwards, along with other officers in his department, continues to search for the fugitives in partnership with US Marshals and America’s Most Wanted to have justice served. Due to his efforts in this case, Jimmy was chosen to receive the TOP COPS Award in 2010; he is one of ten officers across the country who will receive this prestigious award issued by the National Association of Police Organizations for their work in law enforcement.
