The Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee presented its report on the six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department in a 20-page report presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in a special work session on Thursday. See a copy of the MTAS report here.
Pay cited most often as reason for ORPD turnover, low morale, MTAS report says
Margaret Norris, left, and Rex Barton of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee deliver the results of a six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department to City Council on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Oct. 16.
It probably wasn’t the explanation that many expected, but pay was cited most often as the reason for turnover and low morale in the Oak Ridge Police Department, according to a report released Thursday.
Some have pinned most of the blame for the department’s woes—or perceived woes, depending upon your perspective—on Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, and they had called for an investigation of the chief earlier this year on several different fronts.
Among those pressing for an investigation was Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. She and others had raised questions about the chief’s temperament, including whether he has outbursts and is vindictive, and what Baughn suggested is a high turnover rate.
But the City Council instead approved a review of the ORPD that focused on morale, turnover, and administrative policies. In March, Council hired the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee to conduct the six-month review, which was first proposed by Council member Kelly Callison. MTAS presented its findings in a 20-page report presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in a special work session on Thursday.
The report identified a primary culprit familiar to many workers: pay. But as officers have pointed out, they, unlike most other workers, face danger on a daily basis.
Most of those interviewed by MTAS thought that ORPD salaries are not suitable for retaining good employees, MTAS consultant Rex Barton told Council members Thursday. Whatever raises have been given in the past few years have been outstripped by the rise in the cost of benefits, Barton said.
Party in the Park features family-friendly fun, crime prevention, music, food on Saturday
Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Thomas, front left, invites children to meet one of the ORPD’s K-9s at last year’s crime prevention celebration. Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi is pictured at back left. (Submitted photo)
The first annual Party in the Park on Saturday will feature family-friendly activities for children and adults, crime prevention presentations and information, free food, and more. It’s scheduled from 2-6 p.m. Saturday, October 17, at A.K. Bissell Park near the Oak Ridge Civic Center.
The Oak Ridge Police Community Resource Office and the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program will host the 2015 Party in the Park, with activities celebrating the partnership between the community and the police department. The focus of the event is crime prevention, safety, health, and wellness.
Kristine Kinsey will serve as master of ceremonies and comedian. Magician Danny Whitson will perform feats of magic during the celebration. Festivities will also include Oak Ridge Police K-9 demonstrations, safety and health exhibits, Oak Ridge Electric Department bucket rides, and drug abuse prevention information. [Read more…]
County officials to ask for one-year extension on expiring courthouse lease
First elected in August, Judge Roger Miller, left, is pictured in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge before a bond hearing this summer. (2015 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
CLINTON—Anderson County officials could ask for a one-year extension of the lease on the General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The current lease expires at the end of the year, on December 31.
The county has an option to renew the lease for five years from January 1, 2016, through the end of 2021, but it’s not clear if officials want to do that. There are questions about whether they want to keep a courthouse in Oak Ridge, particularly if the City of Oak Ridge is not providing financial support. But if Division II court does stay in Oak Ridge, there is a question about whether it should remain at the current location at the former Oak Ridge Utility District building on Bus Terminal Road.
Officials have limited time, about 80 days, to weigh the alternatives before the lease expires, and there are holidays in the meantime, said Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson, who made a motion to seek a one-year lease extension during an Operations Committee meeting on Monday. The committee unanimously approved that proposal on a voice vote. [Read more…]
Council to hear results of ORPD review during special meeting Thursday
The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above during a meeting on July 27, 2015. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge City Council will hear the results of the six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department during a special meeting on Thursday, October 15.
The special work session—work sessions are non-voting meetings—will feature a presentation by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee, which was hired to conduct the review in March. The review was expected to focus on turnover, morale, and administrative policies.
The work session, which was called by Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch and City Manager Mark Watson, is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue.
MTAS will present the conclusions of its review of the Oak Ridge Police Department. Also, MTAS will submit their final report of the review to the City Council. [Read more…]
Another convenience store door smashed by vehicle, this one in OS
Jason Ross, left, and Phil Brown of Allied Glass Co. in Knoxville repair a glass door smashed by a vehicle at Lee’s Food Mart in Oliver Springs early Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015. Police suspect the crash was intentional. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
OLIVER SPRINGS—Another convenience store was hit by a vehicle this weekend, this one in Oliver Springs, and police suspect it was intentional.
The crash, which was reported at about 2:08 a.m. Sunday, smashed a door at Lee’s Food Mart on East Tri County Boulevard in Oliver Springs, at the bottom of the hill coming into Oliver Springs from Oak Ridge.
That crash followed one at K&J Market at about 2 a.m. Saturday in west Oak Ridge. In that case, a small sport utility vehicle was captured on tape smashing the front door of the convenience store, but it’s not clear why, a business representative said Saturday morning.
The Oliver Springs Police Department said the alarm at Lee’s Food Mart went off after an SUV hit it early Sunday, and nothing was taken. The SUV fled toward Oliver Springs, OSPD Sergeant Kevin Armes said. [Read more…]
SUV smashes front door at convenience store; cause unknown
A business representative said a small sport utility vehicle was captured on tape smashing the front door of a convenience store in west Oak Ridge early Saturday, but it’s not clear why. (Photo courtesy Kevin Rice/Tony Jarrett)
A small sport utility vehicle was captured on tape smashing the front door of a convenience store in west Oak Ridge early Saturday, but it’s not clear why, a business representative said.
The Oak Ridge Police Department received a call about the damaged door at K&J Market at about 2 a.m. Saturday.
Tony Jarrett, who is helping out at the relatively new store on Oak Ridge Turnpike, said the SUV appeared to have been parked in front of the door for about three minutes, facing toward it.
The truck backed up a bit and rammed the double doors, Jarrett said.
“It didn’t break on the first hit,” he said, and the SUV bounced back a bit. [Read more…]
No one in corner booth when truck crashes through restaurant wall
A silver Dodge pickup truck crashed into a corner of Los Caballeros Mexican Family Restaurant on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, but the cause wasn’t immediately clear. (Photo by Kevin Rice)
No one was in the corner booth and the restaurant hadn’t opened yet when a pickup truck crashed through a wall at Los Caballeros on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Thursday morning.
The driver of the silver Dodge pickup was taken to the hospital. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear.
Authorities said the pickup truck also hit a parked Ford Mustang.
The crash was reported at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday.
The restaurant said it could open later today, depending upon what the health department says. [Read more…]
Police: Driver caught after fleeing from two-car crash on Waddell
Police say the driver of this white four-door car fled but was caught quickly after a two-vehicle crash on Waddell Circle late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Police said the driver of a car that slammed into a parked pickup truck on Waddell Circle on Wednesday afternoon fled after the two-car crash but was caught quickly.
The crash was reported at about 4:50 p.m. at 161 Waddell Circle.
Chris Townsend, who lives on Waddell Circle, said he was walking upstairs when he heard the sirens. He was on his way to his sister’s house across the street.
He made it as far as his porch when he said he saw a white four-door car driving fast down the street. The car tried to make the righthand curve on the wet, narrow one-way residential street, but it wasn’t able to, Townsend said. [Read more…]
Female driver escapes car after it goes down embankment at Clinch River
There were no immediate reports of injuries, and the driver reportedly escaped when this car went off Melton Lake Drive and down an embankment into the Clinch River on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
There were no immediate reports of injuries, and the driver appeared to escape when a small car went off Melton Lake Drive and down an embankment at the Clinch River on Monday night.
The single-vehicle crash was reported at 10:47 p.m. Monday. The female driver was able to reportedly escape from the vehicle, which was said to be partially submerged.
The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately available Monday night. [Read more…]
Photos: Police Lives Matter rally
About 65 people attended a Police Lives Matter rally at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A rally at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, September 19, showed support for police officers and first responders. It included music, prayer, several speakers, a reading of the names of fallen officers, a short march, and a candlelight vigil.
“I had this for support of our police officers, first responders, and all lives,” said Kevin Rice, one of the three organizers.
Here are pictures from the rally.
The Police Lives Matter rally included a candlelight vigil at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Police: Forty-nine grams of suspected heroin seized on West Outer after shooting, crash
Chelsea Reign Lively
Note: This story was last updated at 3:44 p.m.
Police seized 49.2 grams of suspected heroin in a West Outer Drive home during a search after the shooting on Wakefield Road and three-car crash on North Illinois Avenue on Monday, authorities said.
The Oak Ridge Police Department has also made an arrest in the case. Chelsea Reign Lively, 22, was arrested Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. She was charged with possessing Schedule I (heroin) and Schedule VI (marijuana) drugs for sale.
Authorities said further charges against Lively are expected.
Police said Larry Dewayne Williams was identified as a person of interest in the shooting when he fled from the ORPD shortly after the shooting and allegedly caused a three-car crash at the intersection of North Illinois Avenue and West Outer Drive.
Officers—including members of the ORPD, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, the crime task force, and an ACSD K-9 unit—swarmed the area and searched for Williams. That led officers to a home at 612 West Outer Drive, where they said they executed a search warrant on Tuesday and recovered additional evidence. The house is the home of Lively and Williams, according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.
“The search warrant commanded that all controlled substances be seized as evidence,” said the warrants, filed by ORPD Detective Kevin Craig.
[Read more…]
