It didn’t take Anderson County Sheriff Russell Barker very long to size up Corrections Deputy Erika Yancey. And he clearly likes her work after only two years on the job. He’s impressed.

Last month, Barker presented this young lady, 32, with the Deputy of the Quarter Award for investigating, seizing, and stopping heroin from spreading and being used by inmates in the jail. Barker’s endorsement of her work is strong.

“Yancey has only worked here a short time, but her dedication and intuition are those of a 20-year veteran officer,” Barker said. “She took some information she discovered and conducted an investigation that led to contraband (drugs) being seized in the jail. There’s no telling how many lives she saved.”

For her work there, Yancey is this week’s “Our Town Hero,” and near the end of our interview about her life and her reflections on it, she said something very meaningful for someone who is only 32: “…Life will teach you if you just let it.”

Corrections Deputy
Erika Yancey

Here is how Yancey describes what happened about two months ago: “…I went into the unit for a tour, and an inmate approached me and told me that someone had drugs. The contraband was suspected heroin. When I took the suspected inmate to be scanned for drugs, she handed them to me and started crying. She knew she’d been caught. The inmate told me about the drugs because we work hard to build rapport with them — and they trusted me to get the drugs out and keep them safe so no one would overdose and die.”

This past May, Barker presented her with another honor — the Sheriff’s Award for the Corrections Division. That award came her way for always helping others even when it was inconvenient for her and staying positive at work every day. She’s taken other deputies home from work when they didn’t have a car and stayed late and came in early for shifts to cover for sick deputies. That attitude and work ethic caught Barker’s eye.

As one of her co-workers puts it, “All I can really tell you about her is that she does anything she is asked and figures out how to do it better. She really understands the purpose of the job. She is caring and trying to always get better.”

She joined the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in 2024 after nine years as a licensed Esthetician by the Tennessee School of Beauty.

After graduating from Campbell County High School in 2012, she needed a job and wanted to be in law enforcement, but her mother, Nancy Yancey, was against it. “She was absolutely terrified of my choice.”  Instead, she earned her license for doing facials and skin care. After those nine years she was burned out. She needed a fresh start.

That’s when she followed her heart into law enforcement at ACSO.

Oddly enough, her decision to apply at ACSO centered on drugs and tough times. “My father was an addict. He was in and out of jail a lot and still using drugs. I didn’t see much of him ever. What I saw was not good,” she said. “I decided I wanted to be on the better end of life than where he was. That was my motivation for this job.”  She was 17 when he passed away at 42.

Jails can be inherently dangerous, so we asked her: “Exactly what is it like to work in a jail every day? “No two days are ever the same. Don’t take anything personally, inmates say. You have to treat the inmates like real people. Many are trying to better themselves, and you work to give them their humanity, and that’s a big thing.”

The ACSO jail has approximately 320 inmates and on any given day that includes 60 to 70 women and 250 men. They are spread throughout in regular holding cells and in maximum security cells for those considered dangerous or with mental health issues.

The stresses are real and can be dangerous. “You worry if you’re going to be in a fight and be injured and will my fellow deputies get hurt. There is no way to know if today will be the day for a fight or if you’ll be exposed to a drug that can kill you. You have to always be aware of things and people – every second.” Yancey has been involved in 10 fights in two years and says she gets bruises but has not had any serious injuries.

What’s the hardest part of the job?  She quickly said, “Not taking it home and trying not to think about it. I try, but it’s almost impossible for me because I care so much. I hope when they get out they’ll stay sober, take their meds, and that I never see them again”

Here are a few more facts about her world:

  • The surprise factor? “Seeing people in jail who you knew as co-workers somewhere before. Recognizing friends and family members of people I know who are in jail and some from when I was in high school.”
  • Her goals? “Going to FTO (Field Training Officer) School to train new deputies who will work in the jail. Maybe being promoted at some point.”
  • Her personality? “Very outgoing. I’m a fairly open book. No secrets. I was raised that way. I meet no strangers.”
  • The future? “Two years into this job and I think it is the career for me. Right now I’m not interested in patrol with a kid at home and the family. This work in the jail with my co-workers and the inmates is incredibly meaningful to me.”

Away from work, Yancey’s life is full – very full. Family fun is enjoyed at Knoxville Smokies baseball games (season tickets), hiking at Ijams Nature Center, kayaking, boating, and watching movies at home. Yancey and Zachery Bruce, together for 14 years, have a 5-year-old son, Hendrix. Zachery is an X-Ray tech for Covenant Health, and they met in high school during their freshman year. When Hendrix needs a babysitter, he’ll be at his grandmother “Sassy’s” house.

The family is pet-friendly. Are they ever?  Eight snakes – four corn snakes and four ball pythons, the largest at 5 1/2 feet. The snakes like frozen rats and mice. She also has a blue-tongued skink lizard, along with a 120-pound Great Dane, Jarvis, a 6-pound Yorkie Poo, Jasper, and a Siamese cat named Binks.

She also raises quail for their eggs instead of the store-bought chicken eggs. “We eat the eggs, and I cook with them too, and we have plenty of them,” she noted. Yancey also tends a big vegetable garden. “If I can grow it we eat it.” She also enjoys woodworking projects.

Is her career one she would recommend to others? “I would for sure and already have recommended it to a few people. It gives you a real sense of public service and serving your community.”

Tom King is a weekly contributor to KnoxTNToday, where he writes the column Our Town Hero, honoring the service of our first responders. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email Tom using the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.

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