KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — At least two Knoxville Police Department officers have filed complaints against the city and KPD, alleging discrimination and retaliation.
Officers Haley Starr and Dan Roark filed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission in May. Starr filed a grievance with the city of Knoxville's Civil Service Merit Board, too.
In their complaints, the officers said KPD changed its policy regarding people on "restricted duty," which discriminates "based upon an officer's disability," the complaints said.
Their complaints are based on changes made through a new general order signed by Noel, who has been chief a year. General Order 1.50 said officers on modified duty have 12 months to return to regular duty, or they "shall be separated from employment with the Knoxville Police Department," the order said. The order was effective starting on November 4, 2022.
Both Starr and Roark said they were transferred to restricted duty because of medical restrictions. In their complaints, Starr said she has worked in modified duty since 2014 and Roark since 2020. Because of General Order 1.50, both of them said they were told they'd be fired in November 2023, unless they're able to return to patrol.
"No one who entered into this situation on modified duty had any knowledge that there was a threat or possibility that they would be terminated," said L. Scott Miller, Starr and Roark's attorney.
KPD spokesman Scott Erland said the modified duty policy isn't unique to Knoxville Police. The Knoxville Fire Department has a similar policy, he said.
"It is important to note that this policy was in the works prior to Chief Noel," Erland said in an email to 10news. "The groundwork for that policy was laid under Chief Eve Thomas, continued under Acting Chief Fortner and was only brought to a conclusion under Chief Noel."
Starr's merit board grievance said in January 2023, almost two months after the effective date of General Order 1.50, KPD told her to clean out and surrender her city vehicle and the department was removing her police powers.
"We were given a list of items that we were advised to turn in including our badges, weapons, ammunition and police identification," Starr said in the filing.
The EEOC complaints filed by Starr and Roark state they believed their police powers were taken as an "act of discrimination and/or an act of retaliation for questioning General Order 1.50."
Starr's civil service grievance said it was well-known around the department she and other officers were going to file civil service grievances because of the new general order. She said after these conversations, the department pulled her police powers.
"They have officers right now, it's not a blanket rule, who have limited capabilities of performing the duties of a police officer, who are driving marked cruisers, who are driving unmarked cruisers, who are wearing uniforms, who are going out wearing a gun and a badge, but yet are on restrictive medical duty that the city's continuing to accommodate," said Miller. "If you can accommodate some and you're choosing not to accommodate these others, I think that's a problem for the city."
A filing with the Civil Service Merit Board said that, as part of teleserve, Starr performed the responsibilities of a sworn police officer, including taking police reports, arresting people who had warrants, writing citations and collecting evidence. Roark said he worked on teleserve for a year, then moved to KPD's technical services.
"The unfortunate reality is that certain jobs, like police officers and firefighters, have physical requirements to be able to safely and effectively perform their jobs," Erland said in the email. "There are not any permanent light or modified duty assignments at the police department. There are temporary assignments for officers while they heal from injuries or other medical issues, but ultimately all police officers need to be able to perform the essential functions of the job."
Miller said he knows of at least six other officers in KPD affected by this change.
City of Knoxville spokesman Eric Vreeland said the city does not comment on pending litigation, or investigations by state and federal agencies.