Henry Price
Meet long standing Constable Henry Price. Henry Price has worked as a peace officer in Sullivan County since Richard Nixon was president. In 1970, Price was elected as a constable. He’s never looked back. Constable Price is the longest-serving constable in the state, with 52 years under his belt. He may even be the longest-serving constable in state history.
The Story
Price was born in Holston Valley. He and his wife, Pearly, have been married for 62 years. They married young, he said, and had two daughters. They now have two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Price retired from Kodak, but in 1970 he had a whim to run for constable. He faced five others in the race and won.
He’s chased bank robbers, investigated attempted murderers and found lost children.
The constable’s job is to serve papers, whether it be a court summons, divorce papers or eviction notices. But, years ago, there was a rough edge to it when there weren’t as many law enforcement officers and sometimes he would get the call to go to a crime.
He remembers the time he went to an attempted first-degree murder scene. A husband who was an alcoholic and a rabble-rouser was “whooping up” on the family.
The man shot his wife. For 30 minutes, they couldn’t even find the gun.
“They called me,” Price said. “I was just around the corner.”
He gets emotional thinking about the good things he’s seen. The best thing for him is finding lost children, knowing they would be safe.
Recently, Price was honored with a proclamation of his service from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. Other constables in the area honored him with it.
His eyes light up as he talks about the award. He said it “made his day.”
“That’s something for my children later on,” he said.
Contact
Anyone who wants to contact Henry Price can do so directly by email or phone.
Phone # 423-353-3620