Danny Wright Named Director Of Highway Patrol Criminal Division

Special Agent Danny Wright has been named the new Director of the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

Wright, 48, a native of Harriman, began his law enforcement career at age 22 when he became a Trooper in 1977. He served with the Oak Ridge Police Department from 1982 – 1984, before returning to the THP. He was promoted to CID Special Agent in 1989. He is a graduate of Roane State Community College, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

He and his wife Mona have one daughter, two sons and four grandchildren.

Special Agent Terry D. Wolfe has been named Special Agent in Charge at the Knoxville/Fall Branch Division of CID.

Wolfe, 41, of Bean Station, is a 22-year law enforcement veteran who has spent the past 19 years with the Department of Safety, first as a Trooper, then as a CID Special Agent. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Wolfe has one daughter.

The department’s CID Unit investigates crimes such as vehicle theft, odometer tampering, driver license fraud, and vehicular homicide. The CID also conducts background investigations on departmental applicants, assists the Internal Affairs Division, and conducts investigations as requested by local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.

Captain Lee Chaffin has been promoted to Major. With that promotion, he earns the distinction of being the only current officer with the THP to hold that rank.

A native of Cookeville, Maj. Chaffin attended Tennessee Tech University on an athletic scholarship, and the University of Tennessee-Nashville, where he graduated from the Critical Care Program. He spent five years as a Paramedic and Assistant Director at the Putnam County Ambulance Service before joining the THP in 1981.

Maj. Chaffin is currently the Administrative Assistant to THP Colonel Lynn Pitts. He spent five years on Traffic Patrol before joining the THP Special Operations-Tactical Squad, serving as Paramedic, Bomb Technician, Counter-Sniper and K-9 handler. He has taught classes at a number of major universities in Tennessee, and is a regular instructor at the Department of Safety Training Center.

Maj. Chaffin and his wife have one daughter, a student at the University of Tennessee.