Donna Turner

Donna Turner, a Jackson, Tennessee native, has served in law enforcement for 42 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she began her career in 1983 as a dispatcher with the Martin Police Department. She later transferred to patrol, attended the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in 1985, and earned her P.O.S.T. certification. Turner served on the SWAT team, worked undercover narcotics with the 24th Judicial Drug Task Force, and became a statewide instructor in DUI detection.

In 1990, she joined the Jackson Police Department, serving in patrol before becoming a detective in the Criminal Investigations Division. Specializing in violent crimes, she gained advanced forensic training in crime scene processing, child abuse investigations, and interview and interrogation. She was court-certified as an expert in bloodstain pattern analysis. In 1998, she was recruited as a Lieutenant to lead the Criminal Investigations Division at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Two years later, she graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico.

Turner joined the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in 2002 as a field agent covering Tipton, Lauderdale, and Hardeman Counties. In 2006, she became Deputy Chief at the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, overseeing patrol and criminal investigations. In 2017, Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Tony Parker appointed her Director of the Office of Investigations and Compliance, the agency’s law enforcement branch handling criminal, administrative, and internal affairs investigations.

In April 2022, Covington Mayor Justin Hanson appointed her Chief of Police, where she continues her decades of dedicated public service.