Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Police Chief Eve Thomas named Knoxville Police Department Officer John Pickens the March Co-Officer of the Month for the Knoxville Police Department. 

Officer Pickens has been with KPD since June 2006.

On March 27, 2018, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Officer Pickens was working on a crime suppression detail when he reviewed a report of a home burglary that occurred on March 23, 2018, on Cedar Lane.  The burglary had occurred between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.  Items taken in the burglary included a 32” Toshiba TV and a laptop.  Officer Pickens did a database search and discovered that James Sharp, Sr. pawned a 32” Toshiba TV on March 23, 2018, at 3:51 p.m.  Officer Pickens checked the subject for warrants and discovered that he had an outstanding Violation of Parole Warrant.  The original charge for the violation was Aggravated Burglary.  Officer Pickens continued with his research and located several possible addresses for Sharp.  Officer Pickens started visiting the different addresses until he eventually located the suspect on Edgewood Avenue.  The suspect was taken into custody without incident.

After Sharp was taken into custody, Officer Pickens shared the information he had obtained on the suspect with Property Crimes Investigator Brian Leatherwood so the investigation could continue.

Chief Thomas said, “Officer Pickens arrested a suspect that has committed multiple home burglaries throughout the city.  This is a great example of the hard work that officer Pickens does on a daily basis.”