Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Police Chief Eve Thomas named Officer J.D. Hopkins the Co-Officer of the Month for June.  Officer Hopkins has been with KPD since December 1999.

On June 2, 2018, at approximately 3:04 a.m., officers were dispatched to a residence on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue on the report of a home invasion by three individuals with a gun.  After the call was cleared, another call came in from the same residence at 4:40 a.m. reporting shots fired into the residence.  The caller gave information that the shooter(s) were on Chestnut Street.

Officer Hopkins responded within a matter of seconds and located two males walking toward him.  As they turned the corner, Officer Hopkins observed that one male had the butt of a handgun sticking out of his pants.  Officer Hopkins stopped and ordered the two subjects to the ground.  They refused to comply despite repeated orders.  The male took the gun out of his pants still refusing to get on the ground as ordered by Officer Hopkins.  The other subject then took the gun and ran from the scene.  At that point, the male finally complied with Officer Hopkins’ instructions to get on the ground.  As the suspect with the gun was fleeing, Officer Hopkins heard him drop the gun.  That gun along with a second firearm was recovered.  The male juvenile detained by Officer Hopkins was charged with two counts of Reckless Endangerment, Aggravated Assault on Officer Hopkins, and Juvenile in Possession of a Handgun.

Chief Thomas said, “In Assistant District Attorney Tammy Hicks’ officer commendation letter, she praised Officer Hopkins’ outstanding job in the suspect’s probable cause hearing in Juvenile Court relaying the very tense situation in which he did his best to avoid shooting two young men who he believed were about to raise the gun and shoot at him.”

The juvenile has now been transferred to adult court.  

Chief Thomas said, “Officer Hopkins demonstrated incredible restraint during a very stressful situation.  We commend him on a truly outstanding job.”