ADMINISTRATION - CAPTAIN JAMES C. SMITH
jsmith@clarksvillepd.org
Captain James Smith was born and raised in Hayward, WI. He served in the United States Army from
1988 – 1992 and was an infantry soldier in Korea and Fort Campbell, KY. Captain Smith completed
Airborne and Air Assault School during his time in the Army and is a veteran of Operation Desert
Storm and Desert Shield. He entered into the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1992 and is currently
the Command Sergeant Major for the 168th Military Police Battalion.
Captain Smith was hired by the Clarksville Police Department in 1993 and worked as a
patrol officer for several years before going to the Street Crimes Unit to work gang
investigations. He was selected as Detective to investigate property crimes before being
promoted to Sergeant in 1998. As a Sergeant, he worked in patrol, criminal investigations,
and the Major Crimes Unit. In 2003 he was mobilized into Federal active service with the
Tennessee Army National Guard to serve in Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom. He was promoted
to Lieutenant in 2005 and temporarily placed in charge of the Selective Traffic Enforcement
Program (S.T.E.P. Unit). He was moved to District 3 to be the shift Lieutenant until his
promotion to Captain on February 15, 2008. Currently, he is Administrative Captain for
the department. Again, in 2008, Captain Smith was mobilized into Federal active service
with the Tennessee Army National Guard in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Captain Smith
was a member of the Police Department Honor Guard for three years and the Tactical Unit
for eight years. Throughout his police career he has been to numerous schools related to
his assignments. He holds a B. S. in Criminal Justice from Troy University and A. A. S.
in Police Science from Austin Peay State University.
Captain Smith is married to Melinda Homol and they have two children, Luke and Cara.