Oak Ridge Today

Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

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Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Robin Smith, who had been deputy chief, has been promoted to police chief, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said Tuesday.

Smith has served as acting chief for the Oak Ridge Police Department since August. Former Police Chief James T. Akagi has retired.

“The Oak Ridge Police Department is an effective team built with good people who care about our community,” Smith said. “We want Oak Ridge to be a safe place for people to live, work and visit. I’m proud to be a member of the team.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police chief placed on leave

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Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:35 a.m.

Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi has been placed on administrative leave, and Deputy Chief Robin Smith has taken over daily operations for now, City Manager Mark Watson said Thursday.

Akagi is on leave until Watson can meet with him after returning from a trip to China, the city manager said.

Three anonymous letters were sent in June and July to Watson, Oak Ridge City Council members, other law enforcement officials, and local media outlets. The letters have been reviewed and have been a catalyst for concern, Watson said Thursday.

The letters are not signed, but they said they are from Oak Ridge Police Department employees. One letter said it represented an “overwhelming majority” of ORPD members. Among other things, the letters raised concerns about harassment, a hostile work environment, hostility, retaliation, policy decisions, and turnover. The letters ask for Akagi’s removal or termination, and an investigation by the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission or some other “independent and unbiased agency.” They said conditions have not improved since the 2015 review by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee and have gotten worse instead. [Read more…]

City code could require animal shelters to protect against cold, dampness

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A change to the Oak Ridge city code that will be considered Monday would require doghouses and shelters for outdoor animals to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.

Current city code requires access to a barn, doghouse, or other shelter “sufficient to protect the animal from the elements.”

But new language could be added to that section: “Doghouses and similar shelters shall be made of durable materials with a solid, moisture-proof floor, and must contain clean bedding material consisting of hay, straw, cedar shavings, or the equivalent to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.”

There have been concerns raised by residents, especially during cold winter weather, about keeping outdoor animals or pets safe and protected from freezing and below-freezing temperatures. It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday night if those concerns led to the proposed code change.

The amended city code would require the approval of the Oak Ridge City Council, which meets at 7 p.m. Monday, March 12, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The change would be done through an ordinance, which requires City Council to approve it in two separate meetings, usually two monthly meetings. [Read more…]

Community forum on immigration is Thursday

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De Ann Pendry

De Ann Pendry

There will be a community forum on immigration in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

A press release said the forum will provide information on how immigration has been affected by current politics and the issue of living without documentation in Oak Ridge.

The main speaker will be De Ann Pendry, a senior lecturer and adjunct assistant professor in anthropology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The forum is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, in the sanctuary at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The forum is free, and the public is invited, the press release said. It’s sponsored by Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge, or WIDOR; Oak Ridge Interfaith Partnership, or ORIP and the League of Women Voters, or LWV. [Read more…]

Mayors, sheriffs also had fraudulent liens filed against them, indictment says

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More public officials, including at least two county mayors and two sheriffs, have been the victims of the allegedly fraudulent liens that led to the indictment announced by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in Nashville on Thursday, after arrests in East Tennessee on Wednesday.

Information about the liens is contained in the 302-count indictment filed in Davidson County on January 20. That indictment came after a one-year investigation by state and federal authorities into fraudulent liens filed by East Tennessee residents. The TBI said 11 people were indicted, and 10 had been arrested as of Thursday afternoon. Seven of those arrested were from Anderson County.

Among the officials that have confirmed that they they were the victims of liens alleged to be fraudulent are Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and Roane County Executive Ron Woody, and Anderson County Sheriff Paul White and Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton.

Oak Ridge Today has already reported on some of the police officers and law enforcement officials and agencies in Oak Ridge and Anderson County that have been named in the $137 million worth of liens filed by Lee Harold Cromwell, who was one of the 10 people arrested Wednesday.

Other victims named in the 302-count indictment that haven’t previously been identified: Don A. Layton, Daryl R. Fansler, Jimmy Jones, Ronald Nathan Murch, and Steve R. Queener. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police increase DUI enforcement during holidays

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Submitted

The Oak Ridge Police Department is partnering with the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office to enhance DUI enforcement from December 18 to January 3, surrounding the holiday season. The statewide Booze It and Lose It campaign is part of a national mobilization to prevent drunk driving.

During the first nine months of this year, Tennessee experienced 4,740 known alcohol-related crashes. That equates to an average of 17 people each day making the decision to get behind the wheel after they have been drinking.

During the holiday times, the Oak Ridge Police Department will be conducting saturation patrols throughout the city. Officer will be focusing on impaired driving, distracted driving, unrestrained motorist, as well as other traffic violations.

“We can’t stand to see this tragic loss of life again and again,” said Chief of Police James T. Akagi. “The hardest part of the job is making that house call and telling a family that their loved one is gone because someone chose to drink and drive. That’s why, leading up to the holidays, we will show zero tolerance for drunk drivers on the road. Please find a safe and sober ride home.” [Read more…]

Attorney: Police chief did not violate federal law by carrying firearm

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Note: This story was last updated at 10:05 p.m.

Answer pending on question of state law; POST has no current investigation

Federal officials have concluded that Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi did not violate federal law while carrying a firearm during divorce proceedings several years ago, the chief’s attorney said in a letter received by state officials this month.

In April, the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, or POST, asked state and federal authorities to investigate whether Akagi violated state and federal laws by possessing a firearm after being issued an ex parte order of protection during divorce proceedings in Blount County three years ago.

Tasha C. Blakney, Akagi’s attorney, summarized a conversation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Cook about the inquiry in a June 12 letter that was copied to Ray Farris, assistant director of POST. On Monday, Oak Ridge Today requested an update from POST, which certifies law enforcement officers in Tennessee, and received a copy of the letter.

[Read more…]

POST asks DAs, feds to investigate whether Akagi violated state, federal law

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Tasha Blakney

Tasha Blakney

Chief’s attorney calls it one more effort to vilify Akagi

The organization that certifies police officers in Tennessee has asked state and federal authorities to investigate whether Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi violated state and federal laws by possessing a firearm after being issued an ex parte order of protection during divorce proceedings in Blount County three years ago.

The April 27 letter from Ray Farris, assistant director of the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, was sent to Mike Flynn, district attorney general in the Fifth Judicial District in Maryville; Dave Clark, district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District in Clinton; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“Documents provided to our office indicate that an order of protection was issued by the Blount County Court against Chief Akagi on April 19, 2012,” Farris said in the letter. “During the effective period of this order of protection, Chief Akagi submitted his firearms qualifications scores to the Commission, which appears to be a violation of the aforementioned order of protection.”

But Tasha Blakney, an attorney for the police chief, has said Akagi was not prohibited from carrying a firearm.

“I am absolutely confident that there has been no violation of state or federal law in this family law matter with regard to the ex parte order of protection that was temporarily entered and subsequently dismissed,” Blakney said Thursday. “They simply don’t carry any implications for an individual’s Second Amendment rights. That’s just a function of understanding the way that Tennessee law works.” [Read more…]

The numbers: ORPD turnover 2007-2015

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Turnover in the Oak Ridge Police Department is one of several issues at the heart of a contentious debate over the ORPD and its chief, James T. Akagi.

But since the debate started in late January, there hasn’t been much public discussion of how the turnover rate compares, in either numbers or percentages, to the rate before Akagi started on July 1, 2011.

Information requested by Oak Ridge Today and provided by the Oak Ridge Personnel Department and Personnel Director Penny Sissom sheds some light. That data goes back more than eight years, starting in Calendar Year 2007. That’s roughly 4.5 years before Akagi started and more than 3.5 years since.

Oak Ridge Today analyzed the data by calendar year (January-December) and fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The data shows that ORPD turnover ebbs and flows from year to year, with a high of 19 and a low of one.

Oak Ridge Police Department Turnover (2007-2015)

Here are the numbers by calendar year (CY), from January to December, based on city data: [Read more…]

Letter: PBA chapter president hopes for fair, thorough investigation of ORPD

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Editor’s note: This is a copy of a March 3 letter to Oak Ridge City Council.

Dear Oak Ridge City Council members:

I am honored to communicate with you today regarding a very important issue affecting the members of the City of Oak Ridge Police Department. Many of them are affiliated with the Knox County Chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association.

Before I discuss the issue at hand, I want to give you a very brief background regarding the PBA. We are not a union. We do not engage in union activities such as work disruptions or strikes. We are respectful when working with the administrations our officers serve. I’ve found most problems can be resolved if both parties come to the table with an open mind and a willingness to compromise.

The law enforcement officers from Anderson, Loudon, Roane, and Knox counties that make up our chapter depend on our local chapter board to monitor situations and protect their interests. Mostly those interests are confined to the following: a fair working environment and returning home safely at the end of a watch. [Read more…]

Proactive policing, officer visibility, Neighborhood Watch help reduce crime, chief says

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The number of reported crimes has dropped significantly in each of the past two years in Oak Ridge, and that’s good news for the community, economic development, and police officer morale, officials said Wednesday.

Reported crimes were down 9 percent in Oak Ridge in 2011, and 11.5 percent in 2012, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation statistics.

“That indicates to me that isn’t a blip,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. “It’s not a one-year blip.” [Read more…]

ORPD chief to talk to Women’s Interfaith Dialogue on Monday

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

Oak Ridge Police Chief James Akagi will discuss vulnerable populations in the community on Monday.

Akagi will speak to the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge at 2 p.m. at Grace Covenant Church.

“He will explore various new ways we as citizens can help and will welcome suggestions from the attendees as well,” a press release said.

Akagi has been Oak Ridge police chief since July 2011. He is retired from the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency as an assistant special agent in the Oklahoma City District Office, the press release said. He is a native of Kansas, where he formerly served as a police officer. [Read more…]