Tennessee State Trooper Tara Lee joined the Capitol Protection Unit in 2016, working various posts to learn the functions and requirements of each one. One of those posts was at the Tennessee Supreme Court, and it wasn’t long before court staff realized she was someone special.
“I was told by my captain, ‘They want you over at the Supreme Court. I specifically got a request for you for the job you do over there, so what do you think?’ I said, yes,” said Trooper Lee. “I take that job seriously, not only for the justices, but for the clerks, all the girls. That’s my building and that’s just the way I feel. I’m responsible for it.”
That responsibility includes interacting with everyone who comes through the door.
“We have regulars that come in, some of the homeless, what have you. I try to develop a relationship with them,” said Trooper Lee. “However, I do have a stern side. I’m in charge of who enters and who exits, the manner that they enter, the manner that they exit and how they conduct themselves while they’re doing business with the clerks. Every now and then, I won’t say often, being in the job I’m in and people filing appeals and things, I get people who are upset, but it all works out. I haven’t had to physically arrest anyone or put my hands on anyone, so I think I’ve been doing pretty good for this long.”
Trooper Lee’s duties may look a little different when the court is in session, but it doesn’t rattle her. It’s business as usual for this seasoned security professional.
“I’ve probably sat in [the courtroom] just a couple of times because I’m outside, that’s my realm, so they have overtime troopers come in and sit inside the chamber,” said Trooper Lee. “On those days, we’ve probably only had a few high-profile cases with a lot of confusion going on since I’ve been there, but it’s just a regular day. As far as screening, I’m doing a lot more screening. You’re going into that courtroom, you’re getting screened. The overtime trooper and I, we run everybody through, and things go well. It’s just as smooth as it wants to be. I’m out making sure everything is going on like it’s supposed to on the outside.”
Her Supreme Court family knows they can also count on Trooper Lee for those little extras, such as monitoring assigned parking spaces, alerting them to events happening outside of the building, and even keeping an eye on them when they take a break and walk outside the courthouse. This attention to detail and her upbeat, outgoing personality has created strong bonds with those she protects and serves.
“You know, I love them all, I really do,” she said.
“She is very special to everyone in this building,” said MaryBeth Lindsey, Chief Deputy Clerk.
That mutual love and respect was amplified in 2023, when Trooper Lee was diagnosed with Stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). She said her Supreme Court family helped her get through her cancer treatment.
“They were there, all of them, every last one of them – the justices, the law clerks, the secretaries, everybody,” said Trooper Lee. “They all checked on me. I couldn’t ask for a better group. When I came back to the Supreme Court, when I officially returned to work, I had a beautiful flower arrangement from all the justices, a red rose from each one of them. I couldn’t hold it together. They love me. I love them.”
Trooper Lee says surviving breast cancer changed her perspective.
“When I signed up to be a trooper, I think I can speak for a lot of law enforcement officers, you don’t know if when you leave the house you will be back. That was constantly on my mind when I was a trooper,” she said. “However, having breast cancer and what felt like my own body attacking me was a totally different thing, a totally different feeling. I know I don’t sweat the small stuff like I used to.. There’s no room for stupid stuff. Some things you just don’t waste time on. I’m a lot more compassionate. Once you’re flashed with your mortality, the stress of the job and getting angry, that stuff, stress kills. So, I found myself after becoming cancer-free saying, ‘I don’t want any of that stuff boiling up or manifesting in my body.’”
With her days as a “road dog (troopers patrolling the streets)” and her cancer behind her, Trooper Lee is grateful to be here. She continues to divide her time between working at the Supreme Court and the State Capitol, despite numerous attempts to persuade her to work at the Supreme Court full-time.
