The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Poor pay and strict disciplinary actions have lowered morale at the Knoxville Police Department and caused many officers to leave, according to the city’s Fraternal Order of Police chapter.
“We’re no longer competitive with pay and benefits, and there’s a morale problem,” said Brian Moran, the FOP’s chapter president. “Until both these issues are addressed, we’re going to continue to lose people.”
The department’s budget is set for 456 officers. In March, 405 officers were on the department’s staff. That number dwindled to 391 this month.
Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said FOP officials have not complained to Chief Phil Keith. But DeBusk added that Keith has “always been aware of these type concerns.” The department plans to study why officers are leaving, he said.
Moran said Keith has been “supportive” of the group’s effort to increase officers’ pay, but no FOP requests were approved in this year’s budget.
The chapter is also concerned that officers are being “nit-picked to death” with disciplinary actions, Moran said. The FOP cited an example of an officer who received a reprimand for using an obscenity while alone in his cruiser. The obscenity had been recorded by the officer’s microphone.
“Officers are walking around on eggshells,” Moran said.
Other officers have received little or no punishment after complaints of assault and domestic abuse, Moran said.
DeBusk said disciplinary actions against officers have not recently increased. The number of officers disciplined is not especially high for the department’s size, he said.
Officers rarely discuss morale or discipline problems when they meet with Keith at monthly meetings, DeBusk said.
Despite the FOP’s complaints, Moran said Knoxville’s residents should not worry about substandard protection.
“When it comes to equipment and training, there’s nobody that comes close to this police department,” he said. “But that training makes our officers highly recruitable.”