A Look Back at the 2022 Sheriff's Race--A Missing Boy Became a Pawn

The 2022 election in Monroe County wasn't just a political contest; it was the final act in a decade-long drama fueled by betrayal, legal loopholes, and the total erosion of professional loyalty.  

To understand why a 6-year-old child's recovery in early 2022 became a battlefield of optics, one must first look at the wreckage of the relationship between Sheriff Tommy Jones and the man who effectively created him, Randy White...Tommy, I'm just a 'benchwarmer.'

In 2014, Randy White was the insurgent who toppled the incumbent Bill Bivens.  At his side was Tommy Jones--a man White had plucked from a humble background and a low-level position to be his Chief Deputy.  White provided the ladder; Jones simply climbed it.  But when a lawsuit from the ousted Bivens triggered a POST Commission technicality regarding White's full-time experience, a ruling by Judge Don Ashe made the "people's winner" legally erased.

Randy White

In the vacuum that followed, the County Commission didn't call for a new election; they appointed the apprentice.  Tommy Jones was no longer the deputy; he was the King.  In a role-reversal deal worked out, White had now become Jones' chief deputy.

The moment Randy White cleared his legal "glitches" and signaled his intent to reclaim the office he felt was rightfully his, the "moral compass" didn't just spin--it broke. Jones fired White, the very man who had mentored him as second-in-command--this was a cold-blooded reality: Jones was using the authority White gave him to ensure White could never use it again.

2022: When a Miracle Child Became a Prop

By the time the search for young Alijah Kensinger gripped the county in January 13th and 14th 2022, the Jones-White rivalry had reached a fever pitch--Randy White was the EMS Director.  In a healthy jurisdiction, the safe recovery of a child is a moment of pure relief.  In Monroe County, it was a Public Relations arms race.

The Anatomy of the "Information Embargo"

In a high-profile missing child case, the "Golden Hour" of recovery is typically met with immediate public relief.  Keeping the news media--and by extension, the community--in the dark until next day "late morning" served a specific political agenda.

Controlled Narrative

By delaying the announcement, the Sheriff's Office ensured they were the only source for "good news."  This allowed them to stage the announcement at a time that maximized viewership and ensured the Sheriff was front and center for the cameras. The 'wait' made the law enforcement effort look more Herculean than it might have been if the "child found" notification had been made quickly and quietly.  Alijah was found soon after the search-

began, sitting under a tree, about a mile from home.  

In Tennessee, pretending an emergency is still active after it has been resolved is legally viewed as Intentionally Circulating a False Report, which is often penalized more harshly than simply making a false statement.

To continue spreading an alert for Alijah or any other child after the emergency has ended, you could face the following under Tennessee Code § 39-16-502: -- 

The "False Emergency" Charge (Class C Felony)

The law specifically targets those who "intentionally initiate or circulate a report of a... past, present, or impending... emergency, knowing that the report is false or baseless."

• The Penalty: This is a Class C Felony, punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison and fines up to $10,000.

• Why it applies: Even if an emergency did exist in the past, circulating it as an active event knowing it is over meets the "false or baseless" criteria.

Obstruction of Justice & Resource Diversion

If pretending the emergency still exists causes the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) or the TBI to take action (e.g., reopening a file, deploying deputies to a "sighting," or diverting 911 dispatchers):

• The Charge: You may also be charged with Interference with Government Operations.

• The Cost: In many jurisdictions, the court can order the defendant to pay restitution for the full cost of the man-hours and equipment (helicopters, K-9 units) wasted due to the false report.

When a leader uses a community's collective trauma as a "waiting game" for better PR, they aren't just lacking a moral compass--they are actively misusing their authority.  For the residents of Monroe County, finding out they were "bluffed" while a child was already safe is often the moment when political skepticism turns into genuine resentment.

Alijah appeared relatively clean, calm, and fresh while carried by Jones in the staged and dangerous trek on a busy state route.  If he had actually been lost in the woods in 30*F temperatures for 18 hours, medical reality suggests he would have been shivering, potentially hypothermic, and dirty.

EMS Director Randy White had announced they would carry Alijah to the waiting ambulance, the EMS order was ignored--instead he was carried like a trophy (notice the full-size truck) traveling northbound at highway speed near 'Big Bubba' (Jason Fillyaw) next to Sheriff Tommy Jones.

The Cost of Negligence

In emergency medicine, the "hand-off" and transport are high-risk moments. Ignoring a directive to carry a patient (likely to prevent further trauma or stabilize a critical condition) opens the door for:

• Civil Liability: If the patient's condition worsened due to the transport method, the "deliberate indifference" standard becomes much easier to prove in court.

• Financial Impact: Monroe County has already faced significant financial hits. Multi-million dollar awards are often the result of juries finding that leadership failed to enforce basic safety standards or allowed a "culture of defiance" toward proper medical care.

The publicity stunt may have violated several federal laws -- also, the Sheriff's Dept prevented EMS from joining the post-incident debriefing.

"The Homeland Security Act" was amended in 2006 adding hr5852,   (5) which includes provisions for inter-agency inter-operabilty and cooperation to 'conduct extensive outreach to foster the development of interoperable emergency communications capabilities by State,  regional,  local governments,  and public-safety agencies.'

It also describes ways to (8)  'promote the development of best practices to facilitate the sharing of information for achieving,  maintaining,  and enhancing inter-agency cooperation capabilities for such response.'