Teddy Murphy began his law enforcement career in August of 1995 when he was initially hired at the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy. During his 10 years with the sheriff’s office, he served in patrol as a supervisor, school resource officer, DARE instructor, hostage negotiator, and on the Special Operations Response Team. In 2006, Chief Murphy joined the Belle Meade Police Department, where he rose through the ranks to shift supervisor. He was eventually promoted to Senior Dayshift Sergeant and served on the Chief’s Command Staff (Tim Eads). After 11 years of service with the City of Belle Meade, he was hired by the State of Tennessee as a Grant Program Manager with the Office of Criminal Justice Programs. He transitioned from there to a position with the State of Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy as the Statewide Lethality Assessment Program Coordinator.  He most recently served as a Peace Officer Standards and Training Investigator. 
Chief Murphy has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Police Science and Administration from Nashville State Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice / Homeland Security from Austin Peay State University, and a Master’s degree in Public Safety from Tennessee Technological University.