Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Police Chief David Rausch today named Officer Nate Skellenger the Co-Officer of the Month for November. Officer Skellenger has been with the department since September 2009. 

Chief Rausch said that on November 11, 2014, Officer Skellenger responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in the rear of a cemetery on Keith Avenue. Officer Skellenger located the vehicle in the rear of the cemetery with a tent set up nearby. A male, his wife and their two small children were located at the vehicle. The male indicated he had been laid off from his residential painting job in North Carolina since work had slowed. The male said he read some classified ads for painting work in Knoxville so he packed up his family and loaded everything they could in their vehicle and drove to Knoxville. The male had applied with several local painting companies and was waiting on a response. He also said they had trouble getting into a shelter either due to having no vacancy or he would have to be separated from his wife, son and daughter. The low temperature for that night was to be in the forties, but dropping into the twenties over the next several nights. 

Chief Rausch said, "Officer Skellenger obtained names and numbers to several different shelters and provided the information to the male. Nate then called a family friend that operated a small painting crew and explained the displaced family's situation. The male began working with the painting crew the next day." 

Officer Skellenger's friend was also able to allow the family to live in a house for a couple of weeks while the house was being painted. Chief Rausch said, "But Officer Skellenger's work was still not completed. Nate's wife along with the wife of their family friend took the family some food, pillows, and blankets to help them during their difficult time. In addition, Nate and his trainee ordered a Thanksgiving dinner from Cracker Barrel and delivered it to the family." 

"This is an exceptional example of how an officer went well above the normal, kept a family together, helped in finding employment, made sure they were taken care of even weeks after their initial meeting, and made a lasting positive impact on a family's life," Chief Rausch concluded.