Hard work from two local police officers was recently recognized by the public.

City of Elizabethton Police Chief Jason Shaw presented City Council with two officers up for promotion Thursday evening with Jerry Bradley being promoted to Major and Sarah Ellison being promoted to Sergeant.

City Council has provided the police department to perform promotional ceremonies to give the public and elected leaders a chance to meet and get to know their local officers.

Bradley, a Marine Corps veteran, brings experience and a decorated background to the new position. The new Major has served with the Elizabethton Police Department for the past 21 years and served in a supervisory role for the past nine. Titles varied throughout Bradley’s career with the department, ranging from officer, investigator, patrol sergeant, CID sergeant and patrol captain – which he had served for the past four years. Bradley also served as the Special Response Team Commander for the past nine years and has been involved with the team for almost 20 years.

Bradley’s various accolades from the city include; the Meritorious Service Award, the Silver Star, the Medal of Honor. The Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police also named Bradley the 2016 Police Officer of the Year for the Eastern Division.

Shaw mentioned that the promotion of Bradley will remove a supervisor from the patrol division and an open position for Captain.

“One item Major Bradley and I will be working on will be the promotional process for the open Captain position,” Shaw said. “In the meantime, I have a roster already in place from the promotion process for Sergeant that was conducted earlier in the year. Sarah Ellison is next on that list.”

Ellison, who served in the Air Force for four years as a law enforcement specialist, also brings an extensive background to her new role with the department. Ellison is a 25-year law enforcement veteran and has served the past nine years with the EPD as a corporal and patrol officer, served nine years with the Carter County Sheriff’s Department and six years with the Johnson City Police Department.

“Sarah had a successful career as a K9 officer here and the sheriff’s department and is considered the autory on K9 training and operations in the area,” Shaw said. “She will now focus her efforts, talent and experience on leading and training patrol officers under her supervision.”