On Wednesday, May 1, 2019, Mayor Madeline Rogero and Police Chief Eve Thomas presented Sgt. Sam Henard with a Community Service Award.

The Knoxville Police Department’s use of social media is an integral part of the department’s outreach to the community.  

Knowing the importance of this tool, Sgt. Sam Henard volunteered to help make KPD’s successful social media outreach what it is today.  Sgt. Henard is the“go to” guy for all things regarding social media. Sam takes great pride in the quality of work that is shared on our social media platforms, and looks for innovative ideas to gain new followers and promote a positive image of our department.

When the decision was made to train eight supervisors on the use of our social media accounts, Sgt. Henard took the initiative to develop the training packet and deliver the training. With the addition of these supervisors working on our social media accounts, the community has even quick access to events and incidents happening in the city.

Additionally, Sgt. Henard monitors the social media accounts, even on his days off. He attends community engagement events in order to document officers interacting with the citizens of Knoxville. Sam takes great pride in providing accurate information to the community. 

Sgt. Henard’s ideas to create promotional videos highlighting our department have garnered millions of views over the last few years. Additionally, Sgt. Henard creates a new post for Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter almost daily, including on his days off.  He understands how important community engagement is for the department, and he goes above and beyond to make sure our social media posts are up-to-date, informative, sometimes entertaining, but always focused on creating a positive impact.