A road race that was promoted to support officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty appears to have been suddenly canceled, and the local group it was supposed to benefit says they’ve been left without answers from the event organizer.
The Officers Down 5K - Knoxville was scheduled for Saturday, March 3, at Hardin Valley Academy. Over the past couple weeks, though, the event signup page, website and Facebook page have all been taken down.
According to the Sharon Herald newspaper, the founder of OD5K has been charged with criminal theft in connection to a race he organized in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
The Oil City Police Department filed charges against Thomas J. “T.J.” Burke earlier this month. He’s accused of over-billing the city and failing to repay a promised 20 percent of the proceeds from a June 2017 race.
Burke's OD5K was based in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, about an hour north of Pittsburgh, according to the newspaper.
The race in Oil City raised $13,365, and the city was supposed to receive $2,339, according to the criminal complaint. The money was supposed to be paid to the city on a distribution schedule over several months, but only one payment was made, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit says Burke also allegedly over-billed the city by $641 for timing services for the race.
Andrea McDaniel signed up for the Knoxville OD5K because she has family members who are law enforcement officers, and she wanted to support the cause.
She told 10News there was no notice the race was going to be canceled, and is “sickened” by it and feels people, especially police officers, were taken advantage of.
“My blue family has been used,” she said.
A member of the Police Unity Tour Team East Tennessee told 10News the group was going to be a beneficiary of the Knoxville race, but they were also blindsided by the sudden cancellation and lack of information.
"Team East Tennessee" is made up of officers from several area law enforcement agencies who take part in the annual Police Unity Tour.
The team sent the following statement to 10News on Wednesday through the Knox County Sheriff's Office:
“OD5K was going to host a fundraiser race for the Team East Tennessee Police Unity Tour. The Tour would have benefited by a donation from OD5K to the Unity Tour. All that was expected from the Tour was to put information on the Tour’s Facebook page about the race. Two weeks ago, the OD5K shut down its website and did not notify the Tour. Subsequently, members of the Tour found out that OD5K had signed up runners and did not give back their money. The Tour does not have access to who paid. They also found out the owner of OD5K has been charged in other states with fraud and theft. Members of the Tour intend to take the matter to the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.”
Burke’s attorney did not respond to an email from 10News asking for comment about the charges and the Knoxville race.
A message sent to the contact email listed in the Knoxville race information was returned undelivered.
