Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Police Chief Sterling Owen named Officer Randall Smith the 2009 Officer of the Year for the Knoxville Police Department. Officer Smith has been with the department since June 2006 and was twice awarded the Officer of the Month award in 2009. Chief Owen said that Officer Smith takes pride in performing his duties at a high level of achievement. He relentlessly works to increase his knowledge of the police profession. Officer Smith's attention to detail was essential in apprehending several suspects in 2009 including:
January 30 A traffic stop near West High School resulted in the arrest of a suspect wanted by Immigration for distribution of cocaine
January 30 Responding to a bank robbery at the FSG Bank on Northshore, the suspect was located and arrested in a nearby parking lot
May 8 A traffic stop resulted in the confiscation of schedule II pills along with stolen items from a residential burglary
May 9 Two suspects listed on the top 10 property offenders list were located and apprehended
May 10 After determining the suspect's vehicle description from a business robbery, Officer Smith searched a database of all similar vehicles. A suspect was identified and was interviewed by investigators. The suspect returned the money to the business the next day and then turned himself in to investigators
June 18 A traffic stop for a traffic violation resulted in the seizure of more than 116 grams of marijuana
July 9 A traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle wanted in connection to a Sevierville residential burglary and shooting. The suspect was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm
December 19 A response to a disturbance call resulted in the seizure of dozens of Oxycodone and Xanax pills and the arrest of the suspect
In addition to his regular patrol schedule, Officer Smith volunteers with the department's Search and Recovery Team and is a citizen soldier in the Air National Guard.
Chief Owen said, "Officer Smith's hard work and dedication enables the Knoxville Police Department and the officers who work with him to be more effective. He consistently submits above average work and his investigative follow through is worthy of emulation by other officers."
Mayor Haslam said, "The citizens of Knoxville appreciate the dedication that Officer Smith has for the safety and security of our community. Thank you for a job well done."