Traffic investigators for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office are working to identify the driver of a red pickup truck that fled after crashing into the rear a county school bus on South Lee Highway.

Just before four Tuesday afternoon deputies were dispatched to South Lee at Boss Road, which is directly south of APD – 40, on a report of a crash involving a school bus.

The van-style bus occupied by a special needs student, an attendant, and the driver sustained damage to the rear bumper. Witnesses described the truck’s damage as extensive but it was able to be driven away in the direction of McDonald. None of those on the bus were injured.

Investigation revealed both vehicles were in motion traveling south when the bus was hit from behind.

Evidence found at the scene revealed the truck is likely a Chevrolet but the exact model and year have not been determined.

The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office is asking for anyone with knowledge of a red pickup truck with heavy damage that could be from Tuesday’s crash to contact the Traffic Division at 728-7326, or BCSO’s crime tip hotline, 728-7336. If you wish you can leave the information anonymously.

After burglaries at two Bradley County schools, proactive work by sheriff’s office patrol deputies resulted in the arrest early Friday morning of a suspect on multiple burglary charges.

Around 5 a.m. while making a regular check of Lake Forest Middle School where three prior burglaries had occurred, deputies observed a Nissan Pathfinder sitting in a wooded area near the campus off Kile Lake Lane.

Several deputies walked onto the school property and confronted a male suspect. Upon seeing the deputies the male fled on foot but was apprehended without incident by deputies that were waiting beside the vehicle.

Brian Everett Gladson Jr

Brian Everett Gladson Jr., age 26, who has a Cleveland address, provided information related to his involvement in six previous burglaries at both Lake Forest and Bradley Central High School that resulted in the loss of electronics, tools and money.

Detectives that have been investigating the school burglaries interviewed Gladson on Friday.

Based on evidence collected during the investigation and the suspects’ admissions, Gladson was charged with making entry into buildings at Lake Forest Middle School 21 times which includes entering some buildings more than once. Reports show 18 vending machines were broken into resulting in several thousand dollars in damage. School officials also reported a laptop computer, digital camera, and a sawsall were taken.

At Bradley Central High School Gladson is charged with entering four buildings and burglarizing six vending machines. In these burglaries a camera, tools and two laptop computers were stolen.

Damage to soft drink vending machines at both schools is expected to exceed $20,000.

The break-ins were at times schools were closed for fall break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and Friday because of snow.

Gladson is charged with 25 counts of burglary, two counts of theft over $1,000, four counts of theft under $500, and single counts of theft over $500, auto burglary, and possession of burglary tools.

He was held in the Bradley County jail without bond while the investigation continues.

Instructors in boot camps in the armed services and those in Basic Law Enforcement Academies will tell you that we all revert to the way we were trained when faced with an emergency. For instance, a deputy that is faced with a shooting situation will react in the way he/she has practiced in training at the range.

On the personal level, I can attest to this automatic reaction to the way a deputy is trained. In 1996 I was involved in a shooting situation. I was shot by a mentally disturbed man with a rifle. Bullets were already coming at me and there was no time to think of what to do, so I reacted exactly how I had practiced in training. I credit this automatic reaction in keeping me from further injury or death, and enabling me to get in position to neutralize the threat.

This is the reason for regular training.

In Tennessee, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission is the group that is responsible for certifying all police officers and deputies in the state. We are required to have a minimum of 40 hours in-service training each year. We also send our deputies to all kinds of specialized training schools that are sponsored by such agencies as the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy, the U.S. Army and the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, along with many others.

We endeavor to stay on top of the current trends and techniques in law enforcement. In the correctional part of law enforcement we are always looking to the best methods, when it comes to incarcerating people. We are always working to keep a safe and healthy environment, not only for the inmates, but for the correctional officers, as well.

Our Special Response Team (SWAT — Special Weapons and Tactical team) always has an eye out for tomorrow, as they continually train for emergencies regular deputies may not be trained for or equipped to handle. Someone has said SWAT is like a basketball team that practices all the time, but never gets to play. That is partly true, but we must continue the rigorous training for those situations or emergencies in which they are needed. These deputies have been called out many times over the years and in most instances no one has even known about it.

Most of the time these deputies do not get the recognition and credit which they deserve. For instance, several years ago a riot occurred in the Atlanta Federal Prison and numerous hostages were taken by the inmates. According to one federal hostage negotiator the Atlanta SWAT team had breached the walls of the prison and had taken up positions to shoot the hostage takers, as the negotiations were going on. The hostage-taking inmates gave up and released their hostages, never knowing that SWAT was just seconds away from bringing death to each of them. SWAT then quietly withdrew without their presence being known.

In Bradley County there have been many situations handled by our SWAT team. They are an integral part of our overall strategy to provide effective law enforcement services to the people of Bradley County. But, they have also responded to help out in other counties that have not had the resources to handle certain situations.

It is so very important we maintain a professional group of law enforcement people at the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. We are working to keep the best people in all of our divisions. Our divisions are organized into patrol, criminal investigations, judicial services, administration and training, support services and corrections.

We are a county of 100,000 or more and growing.

Over nearly four decades I have watched our law enforcement personnel grow in number. Education and training levels have also grown. We have more college educated and highly trained deputies than ever before. We also have several deputies who have graduated from the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

This increased level of education and training coupled with a good dose of common sense should help us to serve the people of Bradley County in both the near and distant future. I believe we have the building blocks in place to build one of the best Sheriff’s Offices around.

As we go forward, I am sure we will make some mistakes, but they will be honest ones. Also, having grown up in Cleveland and Bradley County, I know that the people understand and will help us to keep our community safe and a great place to live.