Oak Ridge Today

Police chief tackles one of two men fleeing in vehicle, on foot

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A police pursuit of a speeding SUV through Scarboro on Monday ended when Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi tackled one of two men who ran from the vehicle, and backup officers apprehended the second, court records said.

In affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Akagi said he was in an unmarked police car turning left onto Tulsa Road from Tusculum Drive at about 5:10 p.m. Monday when he heard screeching tires and saw a Ford Explorer approaching him from behind at high speed.

The chief said he quickly turned left onto Tulsa Road and pulled to the right to avoid being struck. The Explorer did not stop and swerved right onto Tulsa Road, Akagi said in the affidavits.

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Four ORPD sergeants ask court to order salary increase

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Four veteran Oak Ridge Police Department sergeants, including one who has retired, have asked an Anderson County court to order that their pay be increased to $61,000 per year so they will earn as much as two less-experienced sergeants.

The four sergeants have requested that the pay increase be effective starting Jan. 8, 2012, when they filed a grievance.

They also want the court to overturn or modify a Sept. 7 order from the Oak Ridge Personnel Advisory Board that dismissed their grievance and found no violation of the city’s personnel ordinance.

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Authorities pull bus from Clinch River, dive team continues search

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Bus in Melton Hill Lake

A tow truck pulls a bus from the Clinch River Monday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Austin Reed via Brad Jones)

A submerged bus was pulled out of the Clinch River near Pellissippi Parkway on Monday afternoon, but no one was on board, Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi said Tuesday.

Authorities, including an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department dive team, continued to search the water near Solway Park in Oak Ridge on Tuesday evening.

Akagi declined to release more details or comment on why the dive team was still there. He said he wasn’t able to answer some questions, such as how long the bus had been there, how it got there, or how authorities learned it was in the water.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Anderson County Sheriff's Department Dive Team

An Anderson County Sheriff’s Department dive team searches the Clinch River near Solway Park early Tuesday evening after a bus was pulled from the water on Monday afternoon.