Knoxville Police officers Caleb Coffey, Gordon Johnson and Martin Rice were honored as December 2019 Officers of the Month, during a ceremony held March 2, 2020, at KPD headquarters. 



On December 29 at 5:40 p.m., KPD officers responded to 4009 Bedrock Way on reports of a shooting with victim at the Rocky Top Apartments. Upon arrival, it was learned the two individuals had been shot and killed during an attempted robbery. 

Immediately following that event, multiple calls were received regarding suspicious subjects running down the side of I-640 East, and the description of those subjects matched the description of the suspects from the shooting that had just occurred. 

Officers Caleb Coffey and Gordon Johnson responded to the location and spotted the suspects, who continued to flee. Both officers continued to pursue the suspects until eventually taking both into custody. 

K-9 officer Martin Rice then retraced the path of the suspects and was able to locate a backpack shoved in a drain culvert, and that backpack contained handguns, a rifle and marijuana taken from the scene of the murder. 

Thanks to the quick and decisive actions of these officers in response to a heinous crime, two dangerous suspects were immediately removed from the streets of Knoxville and were subsequently charged for the two murders.