KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Being an officer of the month isn't like being an employee of the month. Instead of exceeding production or sales goals, officers need to excel in the line of duty.
Five Knoxville Police officers went above and beyond December 2019, and the department presented them with awards on Tuesday. One officer found a woman held against her will in a motel room, another made sure workers could shop for Christmas and a trio of officers found suspects after a shooting.
The first officer, Rachel Britt, found a car at the Motel 6 on Harry Lane Boulevard after she received an alert to be on the lookout for it on Dec. 7. Then, she found out the room the suspects were staying in.
She called for backup and inside, Knoxville Police found an intoxicated man and a woman. She confirmed that she was being held against her will. The man was taken into custody and charged with domestic assault and false imprisonment.
A trio of officers also earned the award: Caleb Coffey, Gordon Johnson and Martin Rice. They responded to reports of a shooting on Dec. 29th at Rocky Top Apartments, where two people were shot and killed during an attempted robbery.
Calls came in about suspects running away from the area and the officers followed the trail. Coffey and Johnson spotted the suspects and arrested them. Rice retraced the suspects' path and found a backpack with handguns, a rifle and marijuana taken from the scene.
Lastly, Dan Roark was given an award for his selflessness during the season of giving. On Dec. 21, he was Christmas shopping for his family. After speaking with staff at a store in his district though, he gave them the money he was going to use for his own shopping.
Roark did not expect anything in return, Knoxville Police said. The department only learned about it after another officer acknowledged it. He has been nominated for Officer of the Month six times throughout his career.
