Knoxville Hospitals Investigate Security Threats
By Tearsa Smith, WATE.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After 6 News reported increased security at local hospitals following calls about suspicious men, the Knoxville Police Department and FBI respond.
“We do look at each case,” says police spokesman Darrell DeBusk. “We look at each case separately and we obviously take care of each case seriously and try to investigate it to the best of our abilities.”
The latest reports, which involve unidentified men taking pictures of hospitals and businesses, have authorities again looking into weekly tips.
The Knoxville branch of the FBI says it receives about 30 tips on potential terrorism a day.
Officials say the perception of suspicious activity has changed since 9/11 “Information that we receive, we share with the task force and obviously send it on to the FBI,” DeBusk says. “And they have some capabilities that local law enforcement agencies don’t have. They can go outside the county and the state borders.”
Most of the investigations start at the Knoxville/Knox County 911 center with a call from a tipster.
“What it does, it goes into the call processors here. And they determine what’s going on and send the call to the dispatchers,” explains 911 manager Hawk Ramsey.
Operators say they take hundreds of calls every day. And some of those are about reportedly strange activity. “Don’t hesitate,” Ramsey says. “We’d rather check these things out. We want to keep the public at ease, as best we can.”
The Knoxville Police Department says it’s okay for East Tennesseans to remain vigilant and report activity. But also keep in mind, “As the chief has said a couple times, we have no information that would indicate that this area is an active target.”
Many of the calls taken on suspicious activity are reported to the East Tennessee Joint Terrorism Task Force. It’s a network of the local offices for federal agencies such as the FBI, he ATF and local law enforcement agencies.
The FBI says the key to giving a good tip is to provide as much detail as possible. Operators are looking for information such as license plate numbers, vehicle colors and any other detailed descriptions.