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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified a robbery suspect who allegedly stole $56 in cash and 387 oxycontin pills from the Kmart pharmacy last week.
The suspect has been identified as Jeramiah Frederick Webb, 35, of Morgan County, ORPD Lt. Robin Smith said Wednesday. Webb’s last known address was in Lancing, Smith said.
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Note: This story was updated at 3:51 a.m. Feb. 21.
A former Oak Ridge police officer who had alleged she was the subject of sexual rumors that had created a hostile work environment has withdrawn a $1.25 million federal lawsuit against the city.
Former Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Christina Targonski had alleged that another officer had spread sexual rumors about her—allegedly telling other officers that she had invited him to an orgy and was distributing nude photos of herself to “whoever wanted them,” federal court records said.
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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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Starting Monday, the public will not be able to access the records section at the Oak Ridge Police Department from the north side of the Municipal Building.
Anyone who needs to access the Records Section or needs assistance from the Police Department should enter the building on the south side, at the west doorway, Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi said in a press release Friday.
“Once you enter the doorway, you will be greeted by an officer who will assist you with your inquiries for records or service,” the press release said.
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Five Oak Ridge police officers who moved into the city this year were motivated to do so at least in part by a program that allows them to take their police cars home.
Now, the Oak Ridge Police Department has five officers who are eligible for assigned vehicles under that program, but there are no vehicles available.
So, the Oak Ridge City Council tonight will consider buying eight patrol vehicles, including several new take-home cars as well as a few replacement vehicles.
The Take Home Vehicle Program started in September 2011. Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi said it increases officer visibility in the city and the neighborhoods where they live, allows quick response times, improves productivity, and boosts employee pride in department vehicles, resulting in better maintenance.
He said the ORPD fleet includes 43 vehicles. Twenty-one of them are assigned, and they last longer and get more miles, Akagi wrote in an Oct. 26 memo to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark S. Watson. He said the eight new cars, either Ford Interceptors or Dodge Chargers, could cost up to $340,000.
Tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building Courtroom. The agenda is available here.
More information could be added later.
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Expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs can be turned in to the Oak Ridge Police Department on Saturday.
It’s part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Saturday’s event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Police Department at 200 S. Tulane Ave.
The service is free and anonymous, and no questions will be asked, a city press release said.
