He was a 10th grader, a young and short 15-year-old at Lenoir City High School. That’s when God came calling. “… God pointed me in this direction and called me to this profession,” says Loudon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Deputy Dalton Harrison. “It’s a different job every day and I really enjoy the constant opportunity for personal growth. I’ve never considered doing anything else.”
Only 25, he’s in his fourth year at LCSO. He signed up and began work in October 2019, worked 18 months in corrections (the jail) and in May 2021 was assigned to patrol. He’s on the night shift, 6 to 6. “I love my job. There’s not one thing about it I do not like,” he says.
Deputy Dalton Harrison
He also loves his patrol area – the whole county. He was born and reared in Loudon and graduated from Lenoir City High School in 2017. He knows his “beat” well.
His previous comment about personal growth is a segue into his new role. Dalton and Draco are LCSO’s newest K9 team. Draco is a beautiful 2-year-old, 75-pound brindle Dutch Shepherd. They’re partners at work and at home. After a few months of becoming buddies, cementing what is now an inseparable bond, they spent eight tough weeks with trainers from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Together, they worked 300 hours, becoming a team, graduating from KCSO’s prestigious K9 Training Certification Program. Draco’s skillset allows him to execute criminal apprehensions, tracking and narcotics detection of hidden or concealed drugs and substances.
“From tracking a lost child, to apprehending a bank robber who has fled into the woods, to sniffing out large quantities of concealed narcotics, Deputy Harrison and Draco will make an immediate impact on our community,” said Loudon County Sheriff Jimmy Davis. “This is just another example, another tool, that continues to add to the effectiveness of this agency. I am so proud of the commitment and dedication that Dalton has put into being another piece of our great team.”
This is a big year in Harrison’s life. His wedding day is planned for September 14 when he and Daelin Adams exchange vows. She works in Pilot Flying J’s corporate headquarters.
Harrison’s late grandfather was Roger Goode, who for many years was the assistant director of the TVA Police & Emergency Management department. Prior to that, he was a Blue Hawk motor officer for the Knoxville Police Department. Harrison said he passed away when he was 3. “But he left a legacy and I grew up hearing a lot of stories about him. He also was a command sergeant major in the Tennessee Air National Guard. I wished I had known him.”
And in the world of there are no coincidences, his fiancé moved to Loudon with her family from Boynton Beach, Florida. Her father, Brian, worked for 18 years with the police department there and now he works for … you guessed it … the TVA police.
Now, about this Big Boy dog Draco. Listen to the deputy: “He’s a great family dog and he knows the difference between work and home. He’s a highly driven dog. He loves to bark, but he’s pretty quiet at home. He’s also really smart.”
Harrison has another dog at home, his 9-year-old black labrador he calls “Echo.” But Echo and Draco, he said, are not buddies. “Draco has a room to himself separate from Echo and I’m not sure how they’d get along.”
And then a final question: Why did you want to be a K9 officer?”
“It is a different type of assignment. I always kind of thought about being a K9. It’s another stop in my career that gives me some new perspectives and broadens my value to the department. It’s a next growth step in my career.”
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.