Smyrna Police Department (SPD) Officer Aaron Parris completed the 55th session of the National Forensic Academy (NFA) at the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center (UT LEIC) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

Officer Parris was one of twenty-six participants from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the United States to complete the rigorous ten week residence course.  This course is designed to provide its graduates with the comprehensive set of skills required to successfully process a crime scene.  The hands-on, practically-oriented instruction focuses on evidence identification, collection, and preservation across a wide-spectrum of forensic science disciplines. 

NFA provides participants with training in an expansive range of topics including photography, bloodstain pattern analysis, shooting incident reconstruction, post-blast investigation, forensic anthropology, and human remains recovery.  UT LEIC  Executive Director Rick Scarbrough noted “In addition to the high-quality crime scene investigation instruction, NFA graduates join an extensive network of alumni and instructors they can call upon at any time they may need guidance on processing an extremely challenging crime scene or collecting specific types of evidence.”

“Officer Parris’s dedication and service to the Town of Smyrna is evident,” shared Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold.  “We are proud of his accomplishments and value his ongoing commitment to training opportunities that will allow him to better serve our community.”

The NFA was initiated in September 2001, as a result of the efforts of former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith and the internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and UT Professor Emeritus William M. “Bill” Bass III.