CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — With just two months into the school year, the Cheatham County School System has fired two teachers, both accused of being found with drugs on school property.
The latest incident took place Valentine’s Day at Sycamore High School. Officials said staff members, who are trained to look for signs of impairments, noticed something about a teacher and contacted the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office.
Bodycam video obtained by News 2 shows 42-year-old Brandon Peters, former U.S. history teacher, personal finance teacher and wrestling coach, being investigated by school resource officers (SROs).
When asked if he had been drinking, Peters reportedly told authorities “no,” agreeing to take a field sobriety test inside the school.
Some of the tests included deputies asking Peters to follow a pen with his eyes, walk heel-to-toe and raise one foot and count while keeping his balance.
According to the deputy’s report, Peters was “unsteady during the instruction phase” and got out of the stance before he was told to.
The deputy went on to write that he did not suspect Peters to be under the influence of alcohol, but he did believe him to be under the influence of drugs.
Authorities reported Peters admitted to taking a family member’s medication around noon, claiming that the pills were an antidepressant.
Additional experts also arrived and ran tests on Peters, including the department’s DRE Drug Recognition expert.
The DRE reportedly “calculated and determined that the suspect [Peters] to be under the influence of THC.”
Deputies added they also searched Peter’s pickup truck, which was in the school’s parking lot. Inside the truck, deputies said they found eight carts of THC.
Peters allegedly stated that he knew the THC carts were inside his vehicle and admitted to taking his family member’s medication around noon.
Authorities reported Peters was arrested and charged with public intoxication and possession of a schedule VI drug in a drug-free school zone. Officials added the 42-year-old was also charged with possession of THC vapes.
In January, an English teacher at a Cheatham County middle school was arrested after authorities reportedly found drugs in her classroom.
According to a previous News 2 report, an anonymous tip led to the arrest of 24-year-old Mia King after school resource officers found three baggies in her purse, two of which tested positive for cocaine.
A spokesperson for Cheatham County Schools sent News 2 a statement Monday as it relates to drug testing, which read in part:
Our district has drug-testing policies in place, which we follow. All employees undergo a drug screening before employment. Additionally, per policy 5.403, any employee may be require to submit to substance screening if there is reasonable suspicion.
In January, all schools in our district provided professional development training for all staff members on drug use in the workplace. This training was intended to reinforce our commitment to maintaining a safe and effective learning environment for our students.
As part of this training, we also shared information on how to recognize signs and symptoms of drug use, and this played a role in Friday’s situation at Sycamore High School.
Also, our district has a drug dog and we actively patrol our schools and parking lots in an effort to combat this.
Tim Adkins, Cheatham County Schools
School officials added that Peters had worked for the district since 2024 and had no prior in his personnel file, but his employment was terminated on Friday, Feb. 14, the day of his arrest.
