Legal Documents of Jefferson City

Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, § 7-63-101, et seq., the city council appoints the fire inspector and the building inspector in the building department special police officers having the authority to issue citations in lieu of arrest. The fire inspector shall have the authority to issue citations in lieu of arrest for violations of the fire code adopted in title 7 of this municipal code of ordinances. The building inspector in the building department shall have the authority to issue citations in lieu of arrest for violations of the building, utility and housing codes adopted in title 12 of this municipal code of ordinances.

The citation in lieu of arrest shall contain the name and address of the person being cited and such other information necessary to identify and give the person cited notice of the charges against him, and state a specific date and place for the offender to appear and answer the charges against him. The citation shall also contain an agreement to appear, which shall be signed by the offender. If the offender refuses to sign the agreement to appear, the enforcement officer in whose presence the offense occurred may:

1. Have a summons issued by the clerk of the city court, or
2. May seek the assistance of a police officer to witness the violation. If the violation is a misdemeanor under state law, the police officer who witnesses the violation may issue a citation to the General Sessions Court for Jefferson City in lieu of arrest for the violation, or arrest the offender for failure to sign the citation in lieu of arrest. If the police officer makes an arrest, he shall dispose of the person arrested as provided in § 6-107 above.

It shall be unlawful for any person to violate his agreement to appear in court, regardless of the disposition of the charge for which the ordinance summons was issued. (Ord. #98-21, Nov. 1998)