A suspect has been identified and charges are pending after gun shots were reported at McKenzie Acres Apartments on Utica Circle on Wednesday, authorities said.
The shots were reported at about 4:52 p.m. Wednesday, according to a summary released to the media by the Oak Ridge Police Department on Thursday.
Other information about the incident is not available yet, but more information will be added as it becomes available.
The driver of this GMC van was taken by ambulance to a hospital after the vehicle crashed into a home on Providence Road early Sunday. At left is Oak Ridge Department Officer John Thomas. At right is an unidentified person who helped report the crash to the home owners.
The driver of a van that crashed into a house on Providence Road early Sunday was taken by ambulance to a hospital, authorities said.
The name and condition of the driver weren’t immediately available.
It also wasn’t clear what caused the crash, which was reported at about 1:07 a.m. Sunday. Providence Road, a short road on the north side of Oak Ridge High School, is a relatively straight road with a few curves. The Oak Ridge Police Department is investigating the crash. [Read more…]
This month, the law enforcement community celebrated Police Week 2015. For those who do not know, in 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation that designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.
Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, D.C., to participate in a number of planned events that honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Here in Oak Ridge, the Police Department celebrated on a smaller scale, honoring officers everywhere with a ceremony at the Police Station on the 15th. The week was also marked by a proclamation given by the City Council declaring an official Police Week in Oak Ridge.
I represent a group of wives of police officers in Oak Ridge. We worked to make this the best police week ever for our husbands and the rest of our blue family. We organized meals, snacks, and treats for the officers, and hung banners of love and support in the station to let them know we “see them.” [Read more…]
Trina Baughn
By Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn
Given that there is some confusion over recent events, I offer the following summary about where we are, how we got here, and where we are headed with regards to the Oak Ridge Police Department investigation.
The ORPD has seen a total turnover rate of 45 percent in the last four years, having lost 34 of our 76 employees. Five of those individuals have departed in the last four months. Since February, all Council members have received communications from at least seven former officers, three current officers, and countless citizens expressing concerns about leadership and a potentially hostile work environment. Others have communicated anonymously citing similar concerns and attributing their anonymity to fears of retaliation.
On February 9, during a five-hour televised meeting, and in front of the largest audience any of us had ever seen, City Council formally committed to investigate the root causes behind the turnover, morale, and policy issues in the Police Department.
The resolution that was ultimately approved was brought forward by Council member Kelly Callison who stated that “We think that’s a broad, a very broad term that allows an investigator, an independent investigator to look at the issues that might be present…” At the end of the meeting, councilmember Chuck Hope stated, “The investigation that we’ve come to an agreement among the seven of us was reached unanimously…there’s enough information that it warrants an investigation…”
During this same meeting, Council committed to ensure that the investigation would allow for the anonymity of all participants and would include both current and past employees. Mr. Callison also suggested that council select Municipal Technical Advisory Service, specifically Rex Barton, to perform the work. Council did not select MTAS at the time, but agreed to hold a special meeting to select an entity to conduct the investigation and define its parameters. Information regarding the other resolutions that Council rejected can be found here. [Read more…]
To the Editor:
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website, 41,149 lives were taken in 2013 from suicide. According to the website of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, people who kill themselves exhibit one or more warning signs, either through what they say or what they do. The more warning signs, the greater the risk!
Talk
If a person talks about:
Behavior
A person’s suicide risk is greater if a behavior is new or has increased, especially if it’s related to a painful event, loss, or change:
Mood
People who are considering suicide often display one or more of the following moods:
These are shocking. I should know. I was married to a man, who was smart, driven, and someone who, on the outside, had a very laid-back demeanor, and was extremely confident. I had known this man for 13 years. I was married to him for three before he ended his own life. You might be very familiar with this man. There have been some who have taken to the Internet to blog about him and his situation, and there has been some press about him over the last 3.5 years since his passing. Sadly, there have been a number of half-truths and pointing of fingers, and that process has defamed the characters of some citizens and a respectable city.
I am not writing to point fingers, or to publicly humiliate anyone. I want to raise awareness in hopes it helps someone else—awareness about Alex Heitman and what he experienced. I will also add that the information that I am providing is not new information and has been shared with all parties involved at one point or another since Alex’s passing. [Read more…]
Note: This story was last updated at 9:58 a.m. May 22.
The Oak Ridge City Council on Thursday approved a review of turnover and morale in the Oak Ridge Police Department that could cost close to $23,000 and not be complete until October.
The review by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee could include interviews with about 125 people, including roughly 76 current ORPD employees as well as several dozen former workers who have left in the roughly four years since Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi started.
The review, which will also study administrative policies, was initially expected to be free, last 30 days, and use interviews with a random pool of workers. But the City Council expanded the scope of the inquiry during a special meeting in April, and MTAS said it would now have to charge $50 per hour for the work.
Each of the MTAS interviews could take about one hour, city officials said during a special Oak Ridge City Council meeting on Thursday. [Read more…]
Note: This story was last updated at 12:08 p.m.
A review of the Oak Ridge Police Department by a University of Tennessee agency could cost $26,200.
The Oak Ridge City Council has asked the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at UT to review the ORPD, with a particular focus on turnover, morale, and administrative policies.
The initial 30-day review approved during a March 27 special meeting was going to be free. But an uproar ensued after the initial list of employees to be interviewed was sent to the police chief, city manager, and all Police Department employees, raising concerns about the confidentiality and impartiality of the review.
The City Council then expanded the scope of the inquiry. During an April 21 special meeting, members asked MTAS to interview all ORPD employees and try to interview former workers who have left in the roughly four years since Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi started. [Read more…]
Eddie Anderson
Note: This story was last updated at 12:05 p.m.
About 200 people turned out at a school board meeting on Wednesday to show support for longtime teacher and track coach Eddie Anderson, who has been suspended without pay pending a police investigation, and to challenge some of the accusations made against him. Some objected to the process used by the school system, saying the reputation of a fantastic teacher has been sullied.
Anderson, an Oak Ridge High School chemistry teacher hired in 1979, was suspended without pay on April 30 while the Oak Ridge Police Department investigates an allegation of inappropriate contact with a former student. In the letter announcing the suspension, Oak Ridge Schools Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak said the allegation was being turned over to the ORPD as a criminal investigation.
No additional details about that allegation have been released. Anderson’s attorney, Dennis Francis, declined to comment last week, and the Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent’s Office have been advised to not comment until the investigation is complete. City officials have also not commented on the ongoing investigation by the Police Department.
In the meantime, most of the public discussion has focused on an April 11 track meet, the Taco Bell Invitational in South Carolina. School administrators said, among other things, that Anderson knew ahead of time that a hotel the team was going to stay in was “unacceptable and dangerous,” that he did not inform parents of the specifics of the trip and did not answer the phone when they called, and did not double-check student room assignments, which led to a girl entering a boys’ room through an adjoining door and engaging in “inappropriate contact.” [Read more…]
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…]
The Fourth Annual Junior Police Academy is being offered again by the Oak Ridge Police Department.
This year, the ORPD will offer one academy for the Junior Class, designed specifically for middle and high school students from June 22-26. Registration is also open to rising fifth-graders to middle school. The ORPD is also offering a Senior Class for former JPA graduates only. The Senior Class offers advanced training and activities. The Senior Class is scheduled from July 6-10.
JPA cadets will be given presentations by several Oak Ridge Police Department officers on topics that include K9 and SWAT operations, traffic stops, and much more, a press release said. Cadets will also visit the prestigious Law Enforcement Innovation Center, Anderson County Detention Facility, and Oak Ridge Police Department, and they will be given a presentation by the Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, in reference to substance abuse through awareness, and education. [Read more…]
There was an overall 18 percent drop in reported crimes in Oak Ridge in 2014, officials said Thursday.
The annual numbers, which compared 2014 to 2013, were released by the Oak Ridge Police Department and the City of Oak Ridge.
Anderson County released its annual crime statistics on Wednesday, and they showed crime was down in all of the county and its cities by 12 percent in 2014—and down by 42 percent over the last eight years.
The Oak Ridge numbers were generated by Oak Ridge Police Department Crime Analyst David Gordon in coordination with the Anderson County District Attorney General’s Office.
“The Police Department achieved reductions in crime from last year in many categories,” a City of Oak Ridge press release said. “However, some are of particular note and should be highlighted.
“Here is a quick summary of the attachment for 2014 crime stats (compared to 2013), with an approximate +/- factor of .5 percent, which includes those reductions which are most significant: [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Department officers and detectives responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, April 28, for what was later reported to be a kidnapping and extortion plot involving a credit union employee’s family and the Oak Ridge branch of the credit union.
Authorities continue to investigate a kidnapping and extortion plot involving the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge last week, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released some information describing the three suspects.
The alleged kidnapping and extortion started at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, when a credit union employee’s family was kidnapped from the Whittington Creek neighborhood in west Knox County in an effort to extort money from the credit union, the FBI said in a press release on Wednesday.
“The employee’s family was held at gunpoint for a period of time before being released in the Gettysvue Country Club parking lot in Knoxville, around 9:25 a.m.,” the release said. “Upon being released, the victims were able to seek help from a nearby residence. During the law enforcement response, the suspects fled and remain at large. No injuries were reported, and no money was taken from the credit union.” [Read more…]
