Dozens of friends and colleagues said their final goodbyes to former Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch at his retirement ceremony Friday.
Mayor Madeline Rogero and newly-appointed KPD Chief Eve Thomas were among a few who were at the Holiday Inn at World's Fair Park to celebrate Rausch's decades of service to the department.
Rausch joined the force in 1993 as a patrol officer, eventually working his way up to be name police chief in March 2011.
In his time as chief, hhe helped form an investigative task force to combat dealers tied to fatal overdoses.
His work to combat the growing opioid epidemic garnered national attention at the highest levels in Washington D.C., and in his time as chief he's traveled to the White House under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. He's also testified before Tennessee lawmakers.
Now, Rausch is in charge of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after Governor Bill Haslam chose him to lead as its Director.
"It's kind of surreal, because, you know, I'm not really retired. But clearly I've retired from the Knoxville Police Department," Rausch said. "I'm still working as many hours if not more right now in the new role with the TBI. I'm just excited to continue to serve especially with the new role with the state."
Even though his new office is Nashville, Rausch said he'll be coming back to Knoxville from time to time to visit the city and people he credits his success to.
"I love Knoxville... this is home, this is family. My success is on the shoulders of everybody in this room," he said.