Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Police Chief David Rausch awarded the October Officer of the Month Award to Officer Keith Lyon and Officer Eric Parks.  Officer Lyon has been with the department since March 1994 while Officer Parks has been an officer since November 2003.  

On October 7, 2015, Officers Lyon and Parks responded to a suspicious person call at a west Knoxville business.  The caller indicated an elderly male had been sitting at their business for some time and were concerned for his well-being.  The officers were able to quickly determine the male was disoriented and was unaware of his location.  Upon further investigation it was discovered the male had left his residence in North Carolina at approximately 4:00 a.m. and had driven to Knoxville.  The male had forgotten where he parked his vehicle and even thought it had been stolen.  His vehicle was located parked across the street.

Chief Rausch said, “Knowing the male was suffering from a medical issue, they worked diligently to track down his family members in North Carolina.  They located his wife who had just filed a missing persons report for her husband.  Unfortunately, it was going to take her another 7 hours to get to Knoxville.”

Since the male refused to go to the hospital, the officers made the decision to stay with him until his wife arrived on her flight.  They called the Airport Hilton where they reserved a room so the male and his wife would have a place to stay that evening.  They then took him to eat dinner.  While eating the gentleman kept telling people the officers were his grandsons.  The officers then waited with the gentleman at the airport until his wife arrived.  Once they were reunited they drove the couple to the hotel and checked them in.

Chief Rausch said, “Officer Lyon and Officer Parks went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the safety of the male.  They made sure he remained safe and felt comfortable until he could be reunited with his wife.”