KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two officers with the Knoxville Police Department will have an "Officer of the Year" award to hang up on their walls after they were named in the department's 2020 awards.
Investigator Phil Junks was chosen to receive the award for the second time in his career. He led more than 35 investigations into 2020 alone which ended with the arrest of more than 60 people in total. Police said they helped dismantle several drug trafficking organizations.
Those investigations also resulted in police finding more than 15 pounds of heroin, fentanyl and other narcotics. They also confiscated more than 41 firearms that were used to support drug trafficking in Knoxville.
Police said that he also uses his skills and knowledge of investigating the drug trade to help train new recruits and veteran officers.
Investigator Chas Terry was also chosen to receive an award for his extensive work on a single suicide case. It began in September 2019, when he responded to a call about suicide.
During his investigation, Terry found many messages between the woman victim and a male suspect. Some were extremely sexual, and others included messages of self-harm. They had an ongoing relationship with one another that started when the victim was a juvenile, Terry found.
The suspect was an adult at the time it started, police said. The relationship was also marked by the suspect's control over the suicide victim, which continued throughout her childhood, according to police.
She took her own life while the suspect watched through Facetime, police said. He was charged with criminally negligent homicide and Terry traveled to Indiana to help arrest him.
Five employees were recognized in total. Marcie Alls and Scott Erland earned employee of the year awards, while Lieutenant Steve Still received the "Mike Waggoner Leadership Award."
