Oak Ridge Today

Smith named deputy police chief

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Jim Akagi and Robin Smith

Former Captain Robin Smith, right, has been promoted to deputy chief of the Oak Ridge Police Department. Smith is pictured above with ORPD Chief Jim Akagi. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Former Captain Robin Smith has been promoted to deputy chief of the Oak Ridge Police Department.

Smith was promoted on November 8. City officials said he will still oversee the ORPD Patrol Division and SWAT Team.

“He is a valuable member of the ORPD executive and senior leadership teams,” the City of Oak Ridge said of Smith. “Both the ORPD and the Oak Ridge community are very fortunate to have him as a deputy chief, and look forward to his leadership and talent in improving public safety for all of the great Oak Ridge citizens.” [Read more…]

ORPD Records to close early Sept. 11 for Massengill retirement ceremony

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Oak Ridge Police Department Logo

The Oak Ridge Police Department Records Bureau will close early on Friday, September 11, so the staff can attend a retirement ceremony for Deputy Chief Alan Massengill.

The Records Bureau will close at 2:45 p.m. September 11. The office will reopen on Monday, September 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Heroes of the Day: Officers, bystander rescue woman by flipping EVC van after crash

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Cassen Garrison and Brandan Sharp at Emory Valley Center Van Crash

With help from a bystander and another officer, Oak Ridge Police Department officers Cassen Garrison, left, and Brandan Sharp lifted this white Emory Valley Center van off its passenger side after a Tuesday morning crash at Northwestern and North Purdue avenues in Woodland. A female passenger, who was reported to be partially pinned underneath the van, was flown to a hospital by a Lifestar medical helicopter.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:28 p.m.

Neighbors called them the heroes of the day. Three Oak Ridge Police Department officers and at least one bystander lifted an Emory Valley Center van off of a woman who was partially pinned underneath it after a crash in Woodland on Tuesday morning.

Witnesses said the right arm and shoulder of the female passenger were pinned underneath the passenger side of the van after the crash, which was reported at about 10 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Northwestern and North Purdue avenues.

The three officers were identified as Cassen Garrison, Brandan Sharp, and Sergeant Pete Nance. Garrison’s right arm was bandaged. Witnesses said he used his hands to break out a back window of the Chevrolet Express van and rescue a male EVC client in the back of the van.

The female passenger, who was partially ejected, was flown to a hospital by a University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter after it landed at the nearby Oak Ridge City Center. Three others were also reportedly taken to the hospital.

Ed Taylor, who lives at the Manhattan Apartments, also helped lift the van. Witnesses said other neighbors helped as well. [Read more…]

String of beer permit hearings ends with no action against three restaurants

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Lincoln's Sports Grille

The city’s beer board took no action against Lincoln’s Sports Grille on Monday, the board’s third show cause hearing of the year for the restaurant and bar on South Illinois Avenue.

The city’s beer board ended an unusual string of hearings for local restaurants and bars this year by taking no action in its last two meetings. Most of the hearings were called after establishments sold beer to a minor during a state sting in March, but a few were related to bar fights.

The final show cause hearing, held Monday, was called after a Nov. 2 fight at Lincoln’s Sports Grille on South Illinois Avenue. The fight started after a highly intoxicated North Carolina man who had refused to pay his bar bill “came after” a male acquaintance who volunteered to cover his tab, the restaurant manager and police officers said.

The previous two show cause hearings in November were for Aubrey’s and Ruby Tuesday, which both sold beer to a minor during a March 18 compliance check by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The two restaurants were among seven establishments cited for selling alcohol to a minor after that sting. The other five were Applebee’s, Hacienda DeGollado, Hidalgo, Lincoln’s, and Moose Lodge No. 1316. [Read more…]

Police search finds missing Clinton man at Clark Center Park

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Note: This story was updated at 11:47 p.m.

A police search on Monday evening located a missing 79-year-old Clinton man whose personal items including keys and identification, as well as a small amount of blood, had been found at Clark Center Park in Oak Ridge, authorities said.

The man, whom police have not identified, was found lying off an embankment near the edge of the roadway about 200 yards from where his personal property had been found on Bull Bluff Road, the Oak Ridge Police Department said in a Monday evening statement. He was partially clothed and disoriented due to an unknown medical condition.

The man was transported by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville to be treated for a head injury, the ORPD said in the statement from Lt. Robin Smith. [Read more…]

Beer Board approves short September suspension for Back 2 Brewski’s

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The Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board approved a suspension of up to two weeks for a Grove Center bar that was the scene of an April 14 fight involving two men, including one who police said was very intoxicated.

But the beer permit suspension, scheduled to start Sept. 1, could be shortened to one week if Back 2 Brewski’s meets a few requirements, including proving that employees who need training on responsibly serving alcohol complete a course by Aug. 30. [Read more…]

Police officers remembered, sworn in, honored, promoted during Memorial Day ceremony

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Oak Ridge Peace Officer Memorial Day Ceremony

Law enforcement officers from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies honor Peace Officer Memorial Day on Thursday.

Eight new Oak Ridge police officers were sworn in, two were promoted, and many were honored with new awards during a Peace Officer Memorial Day ceremony on Wednesday.

The annual May 15 ceremony is part of National Police Week, and it pays tribute to local, state, and federal peace officers, including those who died on the job.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said more than 20,000 officers have died while working since 1792, and on average, one is killed every 57 hours.

Last year, 127 died, and so far this year, 50 have been killed.

“Your unsung work is what binds us all together,” Akagi told several dozen officers gathered outside the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on a warm, sunny Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

After large disturbance, ORPD warns restaurant to avoid over-serving alcohol

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One month after a large reported disturbance, the city’s deputy police chief told the owners of a popular restaurant and bar in central Oak Ridge that they need to monitor customers who are drinking and not serve people who have consumed too much alcohol.

The warning to the owners of Lincoln’s Sports Grille came during a Monday meeting of the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board.

That board had called a show cause hearing for Lincoln’s, which is on South Illinois Avenue, after a Feb. 10 fight that reportedly started as an argument between two men over a woman and escalated into a large disturbance that required an entire shift of police officers to respond.

[Read more…]