The three-man maintenance team of Benjamin Peterson, Jody Dykes and Caleb Sheville (shown below with Chief Even Thomas) have been selected as the Knoxville Police Department’s 2019 Civilian Employees of the Year recipients, the Department announced on Monday, May 11.



The Knoxville Police Department typically hosts a Recognition Luncheon to honor its yearly award winners. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019 Recognition Luncheon was canceled. The winners were presented their award on the afternoon of Friday, May 8.

“Jody, Ben and Caleb are exceptional employees whose tireless efforts and quiet dedication make the Knoxville Police Department a better place to work,” Chief Eve Thomas said. “Their daily contributions, selfless service and endearing spirit make them model employees and deserving recipients of this recognition.” 

The three-man crew of Dykes, Peterson and Sheville oversaw a wide-swath of projects to improve the functionality and look of KPD headquarters and other police department facilities in 2019, all while juggling an average of 10 maintenance requests per week to maintain the working conditions at every KPD facility.

In just 2019 alone, the maintenance crew took it upon themselves to complete the following projects: finished the bathrooms at the Training Academy; a complete remodel of the kitchen at the Training Academy that included new cabinets, tile flooring, countertops, plumbing and appliances; a remodel of Chief Thomas’ office; complete remodel of the old photo lave into new office space and polygraph rooms; rebuilt the hot water circulating pump that supplies heat to all officers at headquarters, saving the City over $5,000; complete remodel of a first-floor office while overseeing the repair of plumbing and abatement of asbestos following a sewage leak; installed electrical outlets, hung lights and ran extension cords in preparation for A Safety City Christmas; setup and teardown for all public functions and events.



“All three of these gentlemen will come into work at any time, day or night, of the week to make the working conditions within the building workable,” Deputy Chief Ron Green said. “They do this without complaint because of the dedication to their craft.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that they are not continuously working to make all KPD facilities manageable and operational for all employees who work in them. Recognition for all of the hard work and dedication they put forward every day for the Knoxville Police Department is long overdue,” Green added.