Maryville, Tennessee – Today we said goodbye to six long-time Sheriff’s employees who are retiring following years of service to the Sheriff’s Office and Blount County. Combined, the Sheriff’s Office is losing close to 140 years of experience with their departures. These six men were celebrated for their individual contributions at a retirement ceremony at the Blount County Justice Center this afternoon.

The following individuals are retiring or recently retired:

• Capt. Jeff Burchfield

• Sgt. Darin Gallow

• Cpl. Pete Rivas

• Deputy Reginald Lawrence

• Deputy Brian Frazier

• Mike Ritchey

Capt. Jeff Burchfield began his career at the Sheriff’s Office in 1996 after several years of service with the Maryville Police Department. During his time at the Sheriff’s Office, Capt. Burchfield served in many capacities, including patrol deputy, SRO, narcotics investigator/supervisor, SWAT team member, and training officer/supervisor. He was also instrumental in starting the dive team for the Sheriff’s Office and BSORT a couple of years later. He climbed the ranks from deputy and earned his captain’s rank in 2006. For the last several years, he has served as a criminal justice instructor to Blount County’s high school students at William Blount, Heritage High School, Eagleton College and Career Academy, and Maryville High School. In addition, Capt. Burchfield is an experienced scuba diver and holds multiple scuba certifications. He served as BSORT (Blount Special Operations Team) coordinator, and remains a valuable and experienced member of the team.

Sgt. Darin Gallow started his career at the Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy beginning in 2001 and was hired full-time in June of 2013. Sgt. Gallow served as a patrol deputy and was

promoted to corporal in 2016 and sergeant in 2021. He finished his career as a patrol supervisor. Prior to his service with BCSO, Sgt. Gallow served with other law enforcement agencies including Alcoa Police Department. In addition, Sgt. Gallow served our country and deployed during the U.S. involvement in the war in the Middle East. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is retired from the Tennessee Air National Guard.

Cpl. Pete Rivas served with the Sheriff’s Office for 21 years, beginning his career in law enforcement in 2004 in juvenile and adult corrections. In 2005, Cpl. Rivas attended the POST academy and served as a patrol deputy before transferring to the training unit in 2013. He served as a court services deputy for a short time before transferring back to the training unit where he will end his career in June. Cpl. Rivas retired from the U.S. Marine Corps where he served as a drill instructor.

Deputy Brian Frazier is beginning his retirement from the Sheriff’s Office after 26 years of service. During his time at the Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Frazier served as a patrol deputy as well as an investigator before finding his calling as the School Resource Officer in 2016 at Montvale Elementary School where he’s beloved by the students and staff.

Deputy Reginald Lawrence also served the Sheriff’s Office for 26 years. He began his career in 1999 as a corrections deputy. After attending the POST academy in 2007, Deputy Lawrence served as a transport deputy before transferring to Court Services in 2023. Deputy Lawrence also served on the CERT (Corrections Emergency Response Team) during his time in adult corrections. Deputy Lawrence also retired from the Tennessee Air National Guard, serving our country during the U.S. involvement in the war in the Middle East.

Last but not least, Mike Ritchey served in fleet maintenance as an ASE certified mechanic for the BCSO. Since 2014, Mike maintained Blount county’s fleet of cruisers, many times working long days and remaining on-call 24 hours a day. Mike’s skills as an excellent mechanic, as well as his friendly demeanor will be missed.

“All of these men have been good and faithful servants not only to the Sheriff’s Office, but to the citizens of Blount County as well,” Sheriff Berrong said. “Most of these deputies have served the public most of their adult lives, working difficult cases and responding to critical incidents that often turned into many days and nights away from their homes and families. We can never fully repay them for their service to Blount County. These men and the experience of each will certainly be missed, but I am excited for them as they begin this new chapter in their lives.”