Chief Noel’s handpicked consultant says KPD officers report racism in promotions and from their leadership.
Across various ranks and demographics, few outside of ranking sworn personnel and civilians reported experiencing a fair or transparent promotional process. Of those with relevant experience (i.e., excluding reports of “not applicable”), only about half of respondents reported the process was fair. Notably, zero Black sworn perceived experiencing a fair promotional process, based on aspects of the process such as required demographic disclosures on the test, subjective selection practices, and disparate outcomes. (page 21 of the report)
Chief Noel’s officers disobey his directives
New Police Chief Paul Noel has repeated told members of the public that his officer won’t enforce a new felony law against the homeless, yes officers still use it at a threat.
KPD Leadership fails to hold officers to account
Joeseph Roberts was fired by KPD for lying about an arrest, but not the one in the video at right. This incident was reviewed by multiple members of command staff who found no wrong doing. Roberts went on to injure three innocent people in a reckless pursuit.
Young, reckless officers, left unsupervised.
Cody Klingman was on solo patrol for less than 2 months when he struck a gas pump with his patrol car. KPD had his back. He received an oral reprimand and KPD paid for the damages. A couple months later, Klingmann and two other young officers raced down a 45mph road at 80mph with no lights or sirens going…
Have you had a negative encounter with KPD officers?
Have you been harassed, intimidated, searched, or demanded to identify by Knoxville Police? We’d like to help hold officers accountable. Let us file an open records request for the body camera footage and relevant reports. If we find an issue we can formally complain about, we’ll write it up and forward the complaint to KPD IAU and PARC. You can stay anonymous.
Please provide the date, approximate time, and location of the incident. If you know the names of any officers, please also include those.
PARC Complaint Form:
https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/boards_commissions/police_advisory_review_committee_parc/parc_citizen_complaint_form
KPD IAU:
https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/police_department/chief_of_police_office/internal_affairs_unit
Lt. Steve Still
sstill@knoxvilletn.gov
865-215-7237