Lieutenant Staats started his career in law enforcement in April 1998 at the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. Initially, he was assigned to booking and detention and shortly after turning 21, he was assigned to patrol. During his time with RCSO he was also an adjunct instructor for TLETA, as well as an instructor of club/designer drugs for the state and agency. In December 2007, he was hired by the La Vergne Police Department. During his time at LPD, he has served on the SWAT team and was also a tactical medic for the team. He worked several years on the Crime Suppression Unit assisting Narcotics, CID and Patrol with known problems and/or areas. Lieutenant Staats also started the LESO program and took lead writing justifications for the UASI grants (Homeland Security funding). He has worked within the CID division on temporary assignment, organized and ran the beer busts for the beer board compliance checks, was a Crime Scene Technician along with his patrol duties, is a Terrorist Liaison Officer with Tennessee Homeland Security and is also a liaison to the Rutherford County court system, district attorneys, judges and magistrates.
In 2015, Lieutenant Staats was promoted to Sergeant and oversaw second shift on patrol. From March 2023 until October 2023, he was the acting Lieutenant over 2nd Shift until he was promoted to Lieutenant in October 2023. He is also the FTO program supervisor. He is also in charge of the THSO (Tennessee Highway Safety Office) program, where he coordinates with surrounding law enforcement agencies to help reduce traffic safety deaths, DUIs, and other highway safety issues. Additionally, Lieutenant Staats is the President of the Fraternal Order of Police. As the President he believes in maintaining good relations with the police administration as well as the city government. The F.O.P. has been an active member of the community donating money and time to help those less fortunate members within the community.