Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Police Chief David Rausch named Knoxville Police Department Officers Jeff Damewood and John Pickens the December 2017 Officers of the Month.
Officer Damewood has been with KPD since January 1997 while Officer Pickens has been serving since June 2006.
On November 15, 2017, at approximately 7:30 a.m., Officers Pickens and Damewood started reviewing crime reports and noticed several home burglaries that had recently occurred on their beats. They also noticed that Kenneth Barnett was listed as a suspect in some of these home burglaries. Officer Pickens and Damewood started researching information on Barnett and located several potential addresses, what he was driving, and where he was pawning the stolen items. For several weeks they followed up on leads, interviewing people, and doing additional research on Barnett. Officers Pickens and Damewood had Barnett’s method of operation memorized. They knew approximately what time he would attack, how he would enter a house, and they knew what items he would likely steal.
On December 11, 2017, at approximately 10:40 a.m., Officer Pickens received an alarm call at a residence on Gaston Avenue. According to the call, the alarm was coming from the rear door of the residence. Officer Pickens thought that this could be Kenneth Barnett because he knew Barnett usually goes into a house through a rear door. Officer Pickens contacted Officer Damewood and had him to respond to the alarm call with him. Upon arrival, Officer Pickens went to the rear of the house while Officer Damewood went to the front. While standing at the front of the house Officer Damewood noticed someone raising a window. Officer Damewood recognized the subject as Kenneth Barnett. Officer Damewood began yelling verbal commands to Barnett and he came out the back door where he surrendered to Officer Pickens without incident.
Barnett was transported to the Safety Building to be interviewed by investigators. Barnett admitted to several residential burglaries, car burglaries, and business burglaries. Barnett was arrested on a total of 23 charges after the investigation was complete.
Chief Rausch said, “This is a great example of the work that Officer Pickens and Officer Damewood do on a daily basis. Their hard work is a great testimony to their dedication to the community and the Knoxville Police Department. Congratulations on a job well done.”
Click here to view a listing of previous KPD award winners.