Crisis Negotiation Unit

Police Chief

Paul Noel
(865) 215-7000

Public Safety Complex
1650 Huron St.
Knoxville, TN 37917

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Lieutenant JD Burrell
[email protected]
865-215-1212

The Crisis Negotiation Unit is responsible for responding to incidents that require expertise by officers specially trained in crisis negotiation. The team currently has 14 members separated into three teams. They are on call one month a quarter and this assignment is in addition to their regular duty assignment. All officers on this team are trained with 80 hours of Basic and Advanced Negotiations instruction by the FBI or equivalent.  The team also trains 8 hours per month logging in over 96 hours of additional training per year.   

Some examples of incidents that the Crisis Negotiation team responds to are suicidal persons, bridge jumpers and barricaded suspects. The team works closely with mental health professionals, veteran's assistance groups and other social service agencies to stay current on training and available options for assistance to persons in crisis.