KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Within two months this spring, Knoxville Police Department officers found themselves using deadly force three times.
Besides the obvious -- that a human life was taken -- what's another common aspect?
The officers compelled to shoot in April and June are all less than five years out of the training academy. One had just been sworn in in March. By June, she was having to confront a woman armed with a knife running straight toward her.
The episodes illustrate a new reality for not only KPD but some departments across the country. Younger patrol officers, men and women both, are having to confront life-or-death scenarios with only a year or two -- or less -- under their belts.
“We've been very fortunate that these officers are well-trained, and they come out ready," said Knoxville defense attorney Don Bosch, who frequently represents officers involved in use-of-force cases, including at least one this spring. "But there is nothing that replaces time and grade.”
The number of rookie officers is way up on KPD's force. Meanwhile, more than 70 veterans -- almost 20 percent of the force -- could elect to retire, having reached the eligible time of service.
Increasingly, patrol is in the hands of a younger force, often people in their early to mid 20s.
There are a couple key reasons for that, including a drop in the number of academies held by KPD starting in 2009. Only three -- in 2009, 2011 and 2014 -- were held over an eight-year period starting in 2009.
By comparison, KPD is running three academy classes a year right now, according to spokesman Scott Erland. It needs to -- to shore up the ranks.
The lack of a constant replenishment in the ranks led to the retention of a smaller number of mid-level officers, those with five or more years on the streets who can pass along their wisdom to the newbies.
The pandemic also prompted some staff to reevaluate what they wanted to do with their lives. And social upheaval across the country that started with the killing by police of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 has discouraged some to join or stay in the uniform, experts say.
Some have loved ones who requested that they find another line of work.
Another factor: Some officers have been lured away by better-paying jobs either in government security, private security or just other job opportunities. The old tradition of spending your entire career in uniform is not as strong as it used to be.
"It's really hard right now to get people to want to be a police officer and to sign up and you know, take the oath and put on the gun in the badge," said Dave Klinger, a criminologist at the University of Missouri St. Louis and a former police officer. "So if you are wanting to be critical of the police for the fact that they don't have the experienced labor force that you would like, you might want to look in the mirror and say, What have I done to create an environment where not enough men and women want to be police officers these days?"
THE BARBELL
Early this spring, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon noted to WBIR an obvious demographic trend in the ranks -- a "barbell" bulge of veteran officers on one side and rookie officers on the other. And in the middle is a noticeable gap of seasoned or mid-career cops.
"We have, like many communities across the country, faced a big challenge in recruiting and retaining police officers," Kincannon said.
The city has boosted starting pay to help attract more job candidates. Knox County has done the same for the Knox County Sheriff's Office, although Sheriff Tom Spangler told WBIR that KPD's current pay advantage puts his own department at a disadvantage from a hiring standpoint.
Spangler estimated 70 to 80 of his uniform personnel were in a position to retire by the end of the year. The sheriff said he thinks daily about the dangers his officers, including the young ones, face.
"Experience is the only way that these officers can learn," he said.
Legal and policing experts said they recognize a younger force can have an impact on a community.
“The more experience they get, and the longer they're on the force, obviously, they'll have a different perspective on things," Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen said. "But we do have a lot of young officers who are out there, and they're doing a fine job."
Having a younger police force could be a good thing if they've been carefully screened and properly trained, said M. Quentin Williams, a former FBI agent and prosecutor.
Local experts don't see a correlation between younger cops and a greater tendency to use force.
“It really is more of a situational thing," said Allen, to whom it falls to decide if criminal charges must be filed once an officer uses deadly force.
"I really don't notice a trend that our officer-involved shootings are with younger officers. I don't find that to be true," she said.
Bosch makes a distinction when it comes to an officer's experience on the job today in Knoxville.
“While I don't think a younger officer might be more prone to have to use force to deal with the situation, there's just more of them that will be involved in it," he said. "And again, that increases the possibility of a lack of experience causing a mistake.”
Klinger, who in the early 1980s had to kill a man who was attacking his Los Angeles Police Department partner, says there is data that older or "longer-in-tooth" officers may approach a crisis situation "a bit more slowly, and tend to be able to resolve a higher portion of circumstances with lesser force."
If a force lacks enough men and women with five, 10 or 12 years on the job, then it'll have to turn to less experienced officers to serve as training officers.
"And what you've got is you've got a cluster of less-experienced people teaching the inexperienced people how to come on the job," Klinger said. "And I've run into, episodically, situations where I just scratched my head. We've got a guy who's got one year out of the academy, and he's training a woman who is one month out of the academy -- and we typically want to have the longer-in-tooth officers.
"On the other hand, one never knows: There are times and places where younger officers do a bang-up job, for whatever reason. And so it's really dependent on who the individuals are."
If you're a police supervisor or manager, that's why you want to ensure your younger cops and trainees have as much training as possible, he said.
Within the last decade, the majority of officers killed in the line of duty had less than five years of sworn law enforcement experience, according to a 2023 U.S. Department of Justice report.
Also, most law enforcement officers involved in accidental deaths from 2019 to 2023 had five years or less of sworn law enforcement service, the report shows.
DEADLY FORCE
KPD officers have been involved in at least five shooting incidents since December. Here's a summary:
Dec. 2, 2023: KPD’s Arim Ismail fired one shot while responding to a call at a house on Pemmbrooke Shire Lane. Knox 911 had gotten a text about 1:20 a.m. requesting help from someone there.
As she walked at the front of the house, someone raised the garage door abruptly. Ismail fired a shot and radioed for help. No one was hit by the gunshot. Bodycam showed a man in the garage.
KPD spokesman Erland said Ismail, a past Explorer of the Year, was cleared of violating any policy violations in the Professional Standards investigation.
OPS found that, based on a preponderance of the evidence, her actions and the amount of force she used were reasonable under the circumstances. She was not disciplined, Erland said.
Ismail was a 2023 graduate of the KPD Basic Recruit Academy, according to KPD.
Dec. 24, 2023: Responding to a report of shots fired and a vehicle crash, KPD’s Caleb Bailey fired his weapon as a man fired at him in the middle of the night near Chilhowee Park. Suspect Leroy Brooks wasn’t struck; he fled but was later caught.
Bailey was part of a KPD 2020 recruit class. The shooting was found to be justified.
April 17, 2024: KPD’s Seth Beeler shot and killed a man armed with a knife in each hand who charged out of the Fountain City Exxon station toward him and a witness. The armed man – William McBride – died.
Beeler graduated from the KPD recruit academy in February 2022, according to KPD.
Allen's office will review evidence gathered by the TBI in the case.
April 27, 2024: KPD’s Hunter Powers and Cayden Riddle responded to a home on Santala Drive where a man confronted a former girlfriend. The man, Jamauri Griffin, fired a shot, hitting the woman in the face. Hearing the gunfire, Powers and Riddle shot and killed Griffin.
Both Powers and Riddle are from a 2022 recruiting class.
Allen's office will review evidence gathered by the TBI in the case.
June 20, 2024: KPD’s Arim Ismail, Riley Lackey and Tisha Knickerbocker responded about 7:15 a.m. to a report of a woman armed with a knife on Belle Terra Road. Shilo Rice came running at them with a knife. They fired; Rice was shot and killed.
Lackey has been an officer since September 2020. Knickerbocker was sworn in as an officer in March 2024 and was at the time of the shooting in the field training officer program.
Allen's office will review evidence gathered by the TBI in the case.
THE FUTURE IN BLUE
You can think of Ben Olson as a symbol of the changing look of KPD.
Hired in March 2023, the 30-year-old spent almost five months in the police academy and several more months in the field with training officers averaging eight years of experience before he did his first solo shift in January.
Olson's father was a career police officer in New York, and he's now retired.
"He was very happy that I was sort of following in his footsteps,” Olson said.
Olson has already faced tense moments, having had to draw -- but not fire -- his weapon.
"I have had to draw my weapon several times," he told WBIR. "That can be intense depending on circumstances”
Olson served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
"In boot camp, I feel like a lot of times you kind of put your head down and grind through it," he said. "But in the training academy, you know, you've got to be proficient in your driving, got to be proficient in your shooting, you've got to be proficient in law, you've got to be proficient in departmental policies.”
Olson understands the demands of the job; he also understands the dangers. But he said he believes in public service.
It's going to take time for him to become proficient at the job, he observed. But he's determined to do well in law enforcement.
Williams said he believes young people today get into law enforcement "to do the right thing."
Olson agrees.
"We want to help you, and we're doing the best that we can," he said.
