I was on the way to the strip in 92 from Woodmeade off Chapman Hwy, just past the worlds fair site stopped at a light and this dude comes running from cops and throws a gun in the bushes then stops running and they tackle him, but didn’t see him throw it. I called UT police from a friends landline (no cells at that time) and tell them what I saw. 2 of them meet me over there and start telling me how college boy is wasting their time, just as I’m looking in the bush and see the gun. “There’s the gun. Don’t touch it, genius.” Didn’t go over well but them they frantically call KPD, looking and acting like reno 911 characters, which then sends 4 more cars. I had to make a witness statement as the gun the guy threw had just been used in an armed robbery, the reason for the chase. Campus police were something else that night. Got home and had messages on my answering machine from people telling my roommates that they saw my car surrounded by 5 or 6 police cars and asking wtf I did.
So wife's story. Her freshman year, 00/01. She lived in Morrill and had some friends she worked with who lived in an apartment near campus that she went to a lot. They would just hang out and watch movies all night. One Friday night she was waiting outside Morrill for one of them to come and pick her up and forgot something up in her room so she went to get it. For some reason, she had sat her purse down and forgot to grab it when she went up (this is not a surprise to anyone that knows her.....at all). So before she gets back down, 2 of UTPD's finest come rolling up and saw her purse there. So they pick it up and look though it. Wallet, phone, everything is in there. So they make the only possible logical decision - she's been kidnapped. So she comes back down, never even thinks about her purse, goes to her friends, and finally realizes she's left it somewhere. She tries calling it, no answer. Our two geniuses had turned the phone off to preserve battery life, never even to consider she might NOT be kidnapped and may try calling it to see if anyone found it. However, in the meantime before she figures this out, they decide to call someone and update them on the situation. And the first number they come to us her aunt and uncles that live locally. This is probably the point I should mention that within the last month one of their son's had committed suicide so they aren't exactly doing great. So these idiots call them, tell them they've found this phone, and they think their niece had been kidnapped. Then they proceed to turn the phone off. So of course, her aunt and uncle promptly freak the [uck fay] out. But they eventually calm down and realize that her being kidnapped likely isn't the case. For some reason that I have forgotten, they have the number of the girl's apartment she has gone to and on a whim give it a call to see if she is there. And of course she is. So they tell her that UTPD has her purse, phone, think she's been kidnapped, etc. So my wife goes to UTPD, gets her stuff, informs them they are a bunch of idiots, and there's not much they can say. Her uncle, who even I say has a bad temper (albeit it's calmed down considerably over time) and was the professor at the vet school that was the hard ass that everyone hated, makes it his mission to get these two idiots fired. And while he never got that happened, he did proceed to have a sit down with the chief where he peeled paint from the walls. He still does not find this situation funny in the least little bit. Anyway, if any of you can top this, go ahead. I'd love to hear it.
This is incredible. Save the battery for WHAT, I wonder? What would you be saving it for? Couldn't they just plug it in to a charger? They all had the same charger back then.
These are the same guys who thought a purse on the ground automatically meant kidnapping, so who knows.
I was at work one day and received a phone call from a police officer in Sevierville inquiring about a company delivery vehicle of ours that they suspected had been stolen. They went on to say that it was parked at the end of a parking lot with someone asleep in the driver's seat, which was extremely suspicious. It was my employee that was on his lunch break taking a nap before he got back on the road, that's it. Instead of knocking on the window and asking him what was going on, they decided that he had probably stolen the vehicle. They also couldn't answer why it was suspicious that someone sitting in a vehicle in a large public parking lot in the middle of the day was suspicious.
No topping that but I saw a 6’4 guy from Morristown after a Christmas party, in full Santa gear as he was Santa, and of course hammered, sling a couple around when being arrested for PD in the freshman courtyard over by Carrick and Reese. It was comical for a few seconds. He was just stiff arming them in the face. They’d get up and run at him again and same thing. Not even sure if campus pd carried guns. Daily Beacon crime log listed it as Santa arrested.
Damn. That’s a good one. Feels like if I could have gotten the cop to my parent’s house or, even better, to Randy Nichols house I might be able to touch it.
The one time I had to go on a tour of the county jail I told the guard that my taxes paid his salary and asked why he didn’t have a real badge (he had this sewn on job). Then my buddy, who was also on the tour with me, told them he had a tee time (Three Ridges is right next door) and wanted to make sure we’d be out in time to make it. They tried to intimidate us from that point forward with some Maury Povich troubled kid boot camp type shit but it didn’t take. We laughed at them and had to go sit in a cell while the rest of the drunk tank got to shower before releasing us all. Pretty sure they took the $50 in my wallet too. It was pretty funny but also pretty douchey, typical early 20s shit.
I know there used to be IQ caps utilized in police hiring. Does anyone know if this is still a thing? It might help explain some of the head-scratching encounters.
I can't top Card's story but I had a few run ins with them. The dumbest one was one night, my now wife and I were at Cool Beans with some friends, 7 total people. We had 8 pitchers of beer over the course of a 4 or 5 hours. One of the guys was an AGR, we all got ready to leave. He said he was going to call the freshman beeper and make sure we all had rides. Two people walked anyways, so the poor little freshman pledge had to pick 5 of us up. We were crammed in a little 4 door car, my wife was in my lap. We were headed to James White/Agee condos, everyone else was going somewhere else. We get pulled over on the strip by a young jackass KPD officer, too many passengers, not enough seat belts. He was threatening the driver with all kinds of stuff. I offered to get out and walk, he told me I would get a PI since I had been drinking. I told him to give me the seat belt ticket and [uck fay] off. It was getting pretty loud when an older officer pulled up and dressed the young guy down. I remember him saying "you've pulled over the only sober driver in Knoxville you dumbass". Needless to say, we were able to leave with no ticket.
Again, pay more. Invest in better training. Invest in community relationships. I don’t know why on earth someone would want to be a cop, unless no other options, for a living at that pay, especially with a family, and deal with what they deal with.
My dude, LE is already the biggest budget item for many towns. They're given all kinds of expensive gear and tons of training at great cost. It isn't from not enough money.
That’s so UTPD it hurts. Only thing missing from the story are those goobers charging her with disorderly conduct or a faux PI upon her informing them of their idiocy.
man we give billions to other countries. And these guys struggle to pay bills. We have a teacher issue and police issue and the first thing we have to do is up the expectations and requirements and pay them enough to where they don’t have to worry about bills.
