Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Police Chief Sterling Owen named Officer Sammy Shaffer the for the Knoxville Police Department. Officer Shaffer has been with the department since October 2001.

Chief Owen said Officer Shaffer started his career with the City of Knoxville in 1994 when he worked for the Traffic Engineering Department. In 1996, Shaffer transferred to the Knoxville Fire Department where he served until transferring to the Knoxville Police Department in 2001.
Since joining the police department, Officer Shaffer's skills and knowledge have become a valuable resource for the police department. His firefighting skills have been utilized to train the Knoxville Police Department's SWAT Team (Special Operations Squad) to operate in Level A Hazardous Material Suits. Only the Los Angeles, California SWAT Team had achieved this level of training prior to the certification of our officers.

In June 2005, Officer Shaffer was assigned to the Bike Squad in the Central Business District. Mayor Haslam has identified this district as the driving force to revitalization for the city. The goal is to make this area a place where businesses and residents want to locate. Since his assignment, Officer Shaffer has excelled in proactively addressing the special needs of the Downtown area. Officer Shaffer made several felony arrests that have curtailed criminal activity ranging from aggravated assault to burglary. These felons whose actions were affecting the residents and visitors downtown have now been removed from the streets.

In addition to his regular duties, Officer Shaffer volunteers as one of three leaders over the KPD Explorer Scout Program. This program serves as a stepping-stone into the Cadet Program and eventually to a position as a sworn officer. As a leader of this program Officer Shaffer gives hundreds of hours of his personal time to provide training and guidance to this group of young people. Officer Shaffer works to motivate these young men and women and to encourage them to continue with their interest in a law enforcement career.

Officer Shaffer is currently working to develop a training program for volunteers on how they can assist the department in search and rescue operations. The assistance of trained volunteers would be a tremendous benefit for the department and this city during special events such as an AMBER Alert.

Chief Owen said, "Officer Shaffer is well respected by fellow officers as well as the Command Staff. He has the knowledge, experience, dedication, desire, work ethic, consistent stellar performance, and character that make him an excellent recipient of this award."
Mayor Haslam said, "Officer Shaffer is an outstanding representative for the Knoxville Police Department as well as the City of Knoxville. We appreciate his desire to make this a better community by going above and beyond the call of duty each and everyday. Congratulations on a job well done."

Officer Shaffer will receive a signed certificate from the Mayor and Chief along with a free dinner from Ruby Tuesday Restaurant.

All Officers of the Month and Civilian Employees of the Month for 2005 are also being honored today.

They include:
Kathy Pappas
John Venn
Jonathan Chadwell
Floyd Fox
Stephen Slagle
Jason Booker
Hakan Dururvurur
Shawn Neal
Adam Willson
Donna Clift
James Cox
John Holmes
Joshua McAlister
Becky Brack
Ron Trentham
Ryan Flores
Brian Kauffman
Shawn Peoples
Tracy Isenberg
Mike Rupe
Scott Dickenson
Steve Kaufman
Todd Strickenberger