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Knoxville Police Department | |
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Abbreviation | KPD |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
Legal jurisdiction | Knoxville, Tennessee |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | 800 Howard Baker Jr. Ave |
Officers | 384 |
Elected officer responsible |
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Agency executive |
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Divisions | 4
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Facilities | |
Districts | 3
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Website | |
www |
The Knoxville Police Department is the law enforcement agency of the City of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.
Knoxville was settled in the late 18th century, but law enforcement and criminal justice were handled by Knox County in its earliest years. By the early 1800s, Knoxville began to establish its own municipal government services, and Joseph R. Reed was named Town Sergeant in 1802. He was paid $80 per year, and his responsibilities included patrolling the town two nights per week and enforcing the observance of the Sabbath. For the next half a century, policing in Knoxville was informal and often the responsibility of one paid employee and some unpaid night watchmen. [1]
In 1857, M. V. Bridwell was named the first chief of police, and paid watchmen (discreetly appointed men referred to as "secret police") were first utilized in 1867. In 1885, a three-man board of public works was created in Knoxville to give more structured oversight to police officers and other city employees. [1]
In 1901, Knoxville officers accosted Harvey Logan (also known as Kid Curry), an outlaw and a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch who had been suspected in the deaths of several other law enforcement officials. [2] Officers William Dinwiddie and Robert Saylor were wounded in the ensuing shootout. Logan was arrested for the shootings, but he escaped from jail; he fatally shot himself in 1904 while being pursued by a posse. Dinwiddie and Saylor both died in 1914, and both of their deaths were attributed to complications of the 1901 shooting. [3] [2]
As of 2023, the Chief of Police is Paul Noel. The department has three bureaus, the Field Operations Bureau contains the majority of the uniformed members, the Investigation Bureau Division is responsible for all criminal and felony investigations within the department and the Management Services Division oversees human resources, financial, and legal aspects of the department. The Support Services Division oversees all programs and educational and training aspects of the department, as well as volunteer programs. [4]
The Knoxville Police Department has been accused of using excessive force on multiple occasions.
On February 5, 2023, 60 year old Lisa Edwards was arrested at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center after hospital staff reported her to police for not leaving the hospital premises after being discharged. When officers arrived Edwards told them that she could not breathe or walk. The officers did not attempt to verify her claims, but yelled at her and told her she was fine. She was placed in the back of a police cruiser and lost consciousness on the way to jail. Edwards was returned to the hospital where she died the next day. As a result of their conduct during the incident, one officer was demoted and two were temporarily suspended without pay. [5] [6] [7]
On November 26, 2018, Sierra McCauley, 23 years old, was killed by KPD Officer James Gadd on November 26. McCauley was naked and holding a knife when Officer Gadd arrived on scene. He gave 10 verbal commands in 22 seconds before fatally shooting her. The shooting was ruled justified. Officer Gadd is a 23-year KPD veteran. [8] McCauley's death was cited by Knox County Democratic Party Progressive Action Committee as evidence of "racial bias, excessive use of force, and/or insufficient mental health crisis intervention training of the officers involved." [9]
On August 26, 2019, Channara Tom "Philly" Pheap was suspected of a hit and run. According to eyewitnesses, he was shot twice in the back by KPD Officer Dylan M. Williams. There is no camera footage of the shooting, though dash camera footage of some of the lead up is available. [10] Pheap's death was also cited in the Knox County Democratic Party Progressive Action Committee report. A Federal wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by Pheap's family seeking $5M in damages. [11]
In July 2014 Ron Carden was shot in the back by Knoxville Police Department Officer David Gerlach. The shooting happened just off to the side of the view of the cruiser mounted camera. According to local Knoxville USA Today affiliate KnoxNews "Chief U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan ruled Tuesday attorney Richard M. Brooks failed – after nearly three years of litigation and a day’s worth of trial testimony in U.S. District Court – to present enough evidence to allow the jury to even consider whether Knoxville Police Department Officer David Gerlach had the legal right to use deadly force against parolee Ronald E. Carden." [12] [13]
Harvey Alexander Logan, also known as Kid Curry, was an American outlaw and gunman who rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild Bunch gang during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite being less well-known than his fellow gang members, he has since been referred to as "the wildest of the Wild Bunch", having reputedly killed at least nine law enforcement officers in five shootings and another two men in other instances. He was involved in numerous shootouts with police and civilians and participated in several bank and train robberies with various gangs during his outlaw days.
The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. Norman is the current chief of police, serving since December 2020.
The Cambridge Police Department is the municipal police department for the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. Formally organized in 1859. with the appointment of John C. Willey as the first chief of police, the Cambridge Police Department was then manned by only 16 officers. The Cambridge Police Department moved its headquarters location on December 8, 2008. The police department is now located in the Robert W. Healy Public Safety Facility at 125 Sixth Street in the neighborhood of East Cambridge, leaving their Central Square location after 135 years.
Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. was fatally shot by police on November 19, 2011, in White Plains, New York. After his LifeAid medical alert necklace was inadvertently triggered, police came to his home and demanded that he open his front door. Despite his objections and statements that he did not need help, the police broke down Chamberlain's door. According to police, Chamberlain charged at them with a knife and he was tasered, and then fatally shot. Chamberlain was a 68-year-old, black, retired Marine, and a 20-year veteran of the Westchester County Department of Corrections. He wore the medical alert pendant due to a chronic heart problem.
On August 13, 2016, a riot began in the Sherman Park neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sparked by the fatal police shooting of 23-year-old Sylville Smith. During the three-day turmoil, several people, including police officers, were injured and dozens of protesters arrested. A nightly curfew was set up for teenagers in the area.
On April 29, 2017, Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old African-American boy, was murdered by police officer Roy Oliver in Balch Springs, Texas, within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Edwards was shot in the back of the head while riding in the front passenger's seat of a vehicle driving away from officers that attempted to stop it. He was unarmed during the encounter.
On August 30, 2022, 20-year-old African-American man Donovan Lewis was shot and killed by Officer Ricky Anderson of the Columbus Division of Police (CDP) in the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio as officers served a warrant at his apartment. Police were serving a warrant against Lewis for domestic violence against his pregnant girlfriend and assault and improper handling of a firearm. After officers detained two men at the apartment, police opened the door to Lewis's bedroom, after which point Anderson fired a single shot at Lewis who was laying in bed.