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Shawn Hughes

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Awareness Guide
Shawn Hughes  More Info

About the Knox County Sheriff’s Office

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office was established in 1792.  Currently, the Sheriff’s Officer has 475 sworn law enforcement personnel, 450 correctional officers and 75 civilian support personnel.  The Patrol Division includes the traffic unit, DUI Enforcement, K9 unit, aviation, mounted patrol and park patrol.   

 

Knox County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit was created in 1996 through a program from the Department of Defense. The program, called The1033 Program, reutilized military equipment that was still serviceable and was introduced to enhance the Nation’s efforts for counter-drug and marijuana eradication. The free helicopters and equipment were put to use immediately, initially, for counter-drug operations only.

 

Detectives at the Knox County Sheriff's Office perform a variety of tasks. The Major Crimes Unit is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crimes against persons including homicide, rape, robbery, and assault. General Assignment detectives investigate property crimes such as burglary and vandalism and the Family Violence Unit focuses on helping victims of domestic violence. The Narcotics Unit is on the front lines in the war on drugs and the Motor Vehicle Theft Unit responds to calls from victims of automobile thefts.

 

In early 1980, after it was learned that a Worlds Fair would be held in Knoxville in 1982, then Sheriff Joe Jenkins authorized the formation of the departments first SWAT Team. In July 1980, eight officers were named to the SWAT Team. One of the members was former Sheriff, Tim Hutchison. In addition to being one of the first team members, former sheriff Tim Hutchison was also one of the founders of the team.

 

Currently, the SWAT team now consists of approximately eighteen members. Now, as in 1980, all SWAT Team Officers have primary duties such as patrol, detectives, training etc. The SWAT Team is extra duty for all members. SWAT Team Members are on call unless they are out of town. Many times, the SWAT Officers respond to call-outs and come to training on their days off or after working their regular shift. For Deputy Sheriff’s of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, there is no additional pay for being a SWAT Team Member.

 

The SWAT Team is responsible for dealing with any situation that might require a tactical solution. These situations include barricaded suspects as well as situations were someone is being held against their will. They also serve high-risk arrest warrants and search warrants.

 

Source:

knoxsheriff.org

Shawn Hughes is a sometimes controversial veteran Patrol Officer and Bomb Technician who now consults for various agencies and private corporations when he isn’t writing or teaching. His articles have appeared in national publications such as SWAT, Police, & the Police Marksman as well as peer-reviewed journals such as the NTOA’s Tactical Edge, and the IABTI’s Detonator.  He is a columnist at policeone.com, and has been featured at in the line of duty.com.  His second book, on physical security vulnerabilities, is due out shortly. 

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