Let’s cut to the chase and share up front that this week’s Our Town Hero is an 18-year law enforcement professional, a man of many talents who is in his 13th year as a Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) trooper – Trooper Brad Robbins.

Trooper Brad Robbins

He is an integral part of Lt. Angelia Jeffers’ Troop C team that patrols three counties – Roane, Loudon and Morgan. Here’s what she says about this 38-year-old pro. “Troop C hasn’t had Brad for very long, about six months, but he’s become such an important part of our troop.  He has more experience than most of our young troopers, and he has invaluable knowledge for the job. He has a special way about him that makes him a leader among the troopers. He’s an incredible role model.”

And she added: “I am so thankful he’s here to help us guide the younger ones in their careers – to be honest, full of integrity, have a strong work ethic and be true friends to each other.”

His career began when Robbins was still a teenager. He joined the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) in 2008. A year earlier this 19-year-old had graduated from Jefferson County High, where he was an All-State wrestler and nose guard on the Patriots football team.

After five years as a sheriff’s deputy, he moved on to the THP in March 2013 and his first patrol area was Jefferson, Cocke and Hamblen counties. It’s not surprising that during his 13 years at THP he’s been honored a number of times.

  • THP Dist. 1 Lifesaver Award: Honored by the state for proactive enforcement and safety work and for active intervention against hazardous and impaired drivers.
  • Trooper of the Year in 2017 in the Fall Branch THP District 2.
  • Major Drug Interdiction: Noted in state-level enforcement press releases, including assisting in major multi-kilo narcotics seizures along Tennessee’s interstate corridors.
  • Field Reporting Award: Has handled numerous high-profile regional traffic collision investigations and roadside drug/DUI arrests across East Tennessee.
  • MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Awards: In 2019 he received the MADD TN Silver Enforcement Award for removing 50 to 99 impaired drivers from state roadways in a single year while maintaining a high conviction rate.

Robbins is a Jefferson County native, reared among family members who are or were working in the medical profession. He veered from the family norm and instead chose to enter law enforcement.

How’d that happen?  His succinct answer was, well, succinct: “I don’t really know. God opening a door for me I guess.” Robbins points to a few men who helped him make his career decisions and who were, it seems, role models. Jim Green was administrator of the JCSO jail for 12 years, where Robbins started. “Jim (now deceased) opened the door for me to law enforcement. I didn’t know what I was getting into really at the time. But he became a great friend. For a few months I was part-time and worked in the jail. Once I was there it felt real natural to me, it really did. I knew it’s what I needed to be doing. When I left the jail after five months I went straight to patrol.”

After five years at JCSO, Robbins was ready to advance and hopefully make more money for his growing family. That’s where the current sheriff of Jefferson County comes in – Jeff Coffey. “Jeff was a trooper back then and he recruited me to the THP.  He was a big help. I have been blessed with so many good men and women in law enforcement who have blessed me and built me up throughout my career. There are so many of them it’s hard for me to talk about them all.”

It didn’t take long for his work to speak for itself. In his fifth year at the THP, he was selected to join the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug Task Force while still a trooper. He worked on cases and investigations in Tennessee and throughout the United States. That assignment lasted for four years. “It was a great learning experience, really important. We worked a lot of major cases, and I traveled a lot. We worked on a lot of meth and fentanyl cases, going after the distributors. Parts of it were really fun,” he said.

When the DEA assignment ended, he returned to Dist. 1 in Knoxville to patrol in Knox County. In 2022, he also began what he says has been the best part of his career – being a Field Training Officer (FTO). He’s trained more than 30 young troopers and is still doing it today. In November 2025, he was transferred to Roane County, but the FTO job continues.

“I love teaching and getting to know the young guys, and during those 10 weeks you really create friendships and bonds, and that’s important in this job,” Robbins explained. “I was in their place at one time and you look at things a whole lot different then. Experiences matter and I share those as well. But it’s fun to watch them grow like your own kids – grow up and be troopers.”

Now’s a good time to hear more from Lt. Jeffers: “… He’s not a supervisor, but you would think he is. Brad has become a mentor and motivator to our young troopers. He looks out for the younger troopers and wants them to do good, professionally and personally, and he invests a lot of his personal time leading and guiding them.”

Robbins has only two negatives about the job:

  • “Time away from the family. The long hours. It’s not a 9 to 5 job, Ten-hour shifts plus overtime.”
  • THP’s internal policy calls for the specific trooper who investigates a fatal traffic crash to make the in-person next-of-kin death notification. Troopers do not make all death notifications — only the ones directly tied to fatal collisions or incidents they investigate. “Notifications are never fun. We make sure the family and loved ones have everything they need. I’m honest with them and doing this shakes anyone up some. It can be very emotional at times.”

That said, this man with a deep Christian faith loves and understands the importance of his work. “The THP and the job have been really good to me and for my family. If it ended today I would have had a very blessed career and I can hold my head high.”

And to that, Lt. Jeffers adds: “Brad’s earnestness is so powerful. He has been a true gift to our troop, to these troopers, and to me. He has become an indispensable part of the troop. I am so thankful he is here to help us guide the younger ones. There’s just not enough words to tell you how lucky we are to have Brad.”

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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. Enjoyed this article?

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