For Detective Sgt. Keith Bunch of the Jefferson City Police Department, law enforcement was never a career he stumbled into. It was a profession that surrounded him long before he pinned on a badge.

His brother is a police officer, and his mother worked as a nurse at the Jefferson County Jail. Growing up, Bunch went on ride-alongs with friends from Jefferson County High School, where he graduated in 1988. Those experiences gave him an early glimpse into police work and planted the seeds for a career that has now spanned nearly a quarter century.

Bunch and his wife, Patti, have been married 37 years. They have three children and five grandchildren. He and his family call Dandridge home. When he’s not working, he enjoys fishing and spending time with his granddaughters in Tennessee. Two grandsons live in Idaho, and although he doesn’t get to see them as often as he would like, family remains one of his greatest priorities.

Bunch began his law enforcement career with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in 2002, serving as a patrol officer until 2011. That year, he joined the Jefferson City Police Department, where he eventually became a detective sergeant.

What keeps him going after 24 years is the opportunity to occasionally make a difference. “Sometimes I can help somebody get property back, help them through something, or get justice for a wrong that’s been done to them,” Bunch said.

But he admits the job comes with frustrations. “You can’t always get justice,” he said. “Sometimes a case is just unsolvable, and that’s irritating to me. I’m the type of person who doesn’t do well with unfinished projects.”

Bunch laughs that his obsessive-compulsive tendencies can make open cases especially difficult.

“What do I do when I run out of leads?” He said. “I have to deal with cases that just remain open.”

Despite popular television portrayals, Bunch says police work is far less dramatic than people might think.

“I want people to know our job is not like what you see on television,” he said. “I’m not riding around every day shooting at people. It appears like we’re constantly shooting. In 24 years, I’ve never fired my weapon except at the firing range.”

He says modern law enforcement has some impressive tools available, and tips from the public often help move investigations forward. Still, he laughs at comparisons to television crime dramas.

“We have some cool tools available to us, but it’s not like NCIS,” he said. Through the years, Bunch says he has been grateful for the support shown by the community.

“We get a lot of great support from people,” he said. “It’s hard for us to do what we can without that.”

After more than two decades in law enforcement, Bunch still finds satisfaction in helping others, even if every mystery doesn’t come with a neat ending. Sometimes, he says, the hardest part of the job is learning to accept the questions that may never have answers.