Mike Cross
Michael David Cross (September 18, 1957 – December 8, 2013) was Oneida Chief of Police and Scott County Sheriff who died of cancer at the age of 56. He is perhaps best remembered for starting the Scott County County-Wide Prayer Meeting effort. The U.S. Highway 27 railroad overpass in Oneida is named in his honor.
See Also: Sheriffs of Scott County
Preceded By: Anthony Lay • Succeeded By: Ronnie Phillips
Early Life
Mike Cross was born September 18, 1957, the son of Dorothy Cross. He began his career in law enforcement at the Scott County Sheriff’s Office in 1989, serving under Sheriff Jack Laxton. He graduated from the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in 1990, at the age of 33, and continued serving as a deputy at the sheriff’s office until 1995, when he was appointed chief of police in Oneida by newly-elected mayor Jack E. Lay.
Cross married Tammy Lloyd on May 24, 1986. They resided in the Pioneer community of eastern Scott County.
Cross was a distant cousin to Jack Laxton, who served as Scott County Sheriff on multiple occasions. Laxton’s father, Esau Laxton, was also sheriff of Scott County.
Scott County Sheriff
After 15 years as chief of police in the Town of Oneida, Cross entered the race for Scott County Sheriff in 2010. He ran against incumbent Anthony Lay and former sheriff Jim Carson. However, Lay did not actively campaign after resigning to accept a role with the U.S. Marshal Service months before the election. Lay’s chief deputy, Bobby Ellis, mounted a write-in campaign following Lay’s informal withdrawal from the race.
Also on the ballot in the 2010 election was Brad Lay.
Cross won with 27% of the vote, out-pacing Carson by 332 votes. He pledged to quickly unite the fractured Sheriff’s Department and gain the public trust.
Cross is perhaps best known for helping to organize a community-wide prayer meeting on the Huntsville Mall in April 2011, where community and church leaders gathered to pray for God’s intervention with Scott County’s drug abuse problem. The effort sparked national headlines and inspired similar efforts in other communities.
In a 2011 interview with the Independent Herald, Cross said that the prayer meeting came out of a conversation he had with Scott County Commissioner David “Blue” Day. Since taking office on September 1, 2010, Cross’s department had raided 11 meth labs in a seven-month period, and a flurry of fatal drug overdoses had occurred.
“He said, ‘Sheriff, what are we going to do about this (drug problem)?'” Cross said. “I said, ‘Blue, the only thing I know to do is pray.'”
By November 2012, the prayer meeting on the mall had become a monthly event, and Cross said in a follow-up interview that the efforts were paying off.
“With God’s intervention, we’ve already seen an improvement in our drug problem,” he said. “The prayers we’ve had on the mall are bearing fruit. The hospital is about to open. We’re seeing more and more people requesting help for the drugs that they’re on because they want off them.”
Cross was preceded as sheriff by Anthony Lay, and succeeded by Ronnie Phillips.
Illness and death
Cross fell ill in Summer 2013, and later learned that he had a rare form of melanoma. His health steadily worsened, and he died on December 8, 2013, at his home with his family by his side. Funeral services were conducted on Friday, December 13, at White Rock Baptist Church in Huntsville. Cross was laid to rest at Fairview Memorial Gardens.
Cross was the first Scott County Sheriff to die in office since 1928, when Isham Chambers died of flu. Prior to that, Richard Ellis was assassinated in the jail entrance in 1925.
Following Cross’s death, Scott County Commission appointed his chief deputy, Ronnie Phillips, to fulfill the remainder of Cross’s term. Phillips would subsequently be elected sheriff in 2014, and again in 2018.
Reaction
“Sunday morning Scott County regretfully lost the best sheriff it has seen in decades, if not its entire history. From his dedicated fight on drugs to his devotion to family and the Lord, Sheriff Cross put his best efforts to make Scott County a safer place to live and raise a family. Scott County has lost one of its most esteemed icons. He will be missed.” — Jeff Tibbals, Scott County Mayor
“He was hands down the best mentor a person could have. He turned a department that was going downhill into one of the best small town departments in all of Tennessee. It became a department that was highly respected by outside departments. He was making Scott County Sheriff’s Department the same way. He wasn’t your average sheriff. He was a man who wasn’t afraid to express his belief in God and he wasn’t afraid to go public with it. His efforts to not only curtail drug activity but to also bring in the faith in God will forever impact this county in a positive way.” — Gerry “Greasey” Garrett, Scott County Commissioner
“Sheriff Cross leaves a legacy of tremendous service to his fellow man and honor and dignity in law enforcement.” — Lori Phillips-Jones, 8th Judicial District Attorney General
“He will definitely be dearly missed, not only as a brother in law enforcement but also as a cousin and childhood friend. We began our law enforcement careers close to the same time. We started off in all of this together at the same time. He was more like family than anything else.” — Darryl Laxton, Oneida Chief of Police
Bridge Dedication
In October 2014, some 10 months after Cross’s death, the U.S. Highway 27 overpass of Norfolk-Southern Railroad in south Oneida was named the Mike Cross Bridge.
A large contingency of local officials and state dignitaries were on hand for the unveiling of the dedication, including State Senator Ken Yager and State Representative Kelly Keisling.
“Dad did not go into law enforcement to be honored,” said Cross’s son, Tyler Cross, who followed his father’s footsteps into law enforcement. “He went into law enforcement to help people. (But) my dad did a very good job. I believe that, and it has honored me beyond belief to see that other people feel the same way.”
Family
Mike and Tammy Cross had two children, Michael Tyler Cross and Mallory Emily Cross.