Under legal pressure from Knox News, Knoxville mayor releases some police chief search records
For nearly 14 months, Knox News has asked Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon to share public records about how she conducted her search in 2022 for a new police chief, a process she promised to conduct with transparency.
The Kincannon administration repeatedly denied requests, claiming the search for a new chief was not subject to open records law because the city hired a private organization, the Police Executive Research Forum, commonly called PERF, to conduct the search.
Knox News sued in July after the mayor's office repeatedly refused requests for public records, and the city hired private lawyers to try to keep the hiring process secret. A judge ruled city officials must answer Knox News' questions under oath about the process.
On May 1, Kincannon’s office sent hundreds of pages of documents related to the hiring process to media outlets in Knoxville, apparently in an attempt to bring the lawsuit to a close before officials are required to answer questions under oath.
“Now, with the applicants’ permission and PERF's records in hand, I am sharing these documents with those members of the media who have requested more information on the KPD Chief selection process,” part of Kincannon's statement read.
The list was sent out to every notable media outlet in the area at 2:06 p.m. May 1. Every outlet except Knox News.
Instead, the city sent a copy of the material, among other items, to Knox News' attorney, not the reporter who sent the open records request. After Knox News once again asked for the documents after the media release, the city supplied the list to Knox News at 7:43 p.m.
On Feb. 24, 2022, Knox News requested
a list of the names of the people who applied for the Knoxville police chief position
the age, ethnicity and gender of each of the applicants
resumes of the applicants.
On March 22, 2022, the city said it did not have the records
“Applications were submitted to the Police Executive Research Forum and not to any City employee, so there is no City record that lists the names of applicants or provides a breakdown of applicants' ages, ethnicity or gender.”
PERF, the city said, is not subject to taxpayer oversight even though taxpayers provided the $43,000 to hire the firm.
The mayor's office said it had not created or received any records - no emails, no resumes, no documents - related to the hiring of the city's top law enforcement commander.
Knox News also requested written communication between city employees and the Police Executive Research Forum, which the city granted.
On April 14, 2022, Knox News requested
the schedule of the mayor's Police Chief Advisory Committee meetings
any/all documents created for/by the Police Chief Advisory Committee
permission to sit in on committee meetings.
On April 28, 2022, city spokesperson Eric Vreeland said the city did not have the records
“Tyler - I have located no records responsive to your request.” (Tyler is Knox News reporter Tyler Whetstone.)
Knox News sued after the repeated denials for public documents from the mayor's office.
On Aug. 22, 2022, Knox News requested
total amount of the city’s outside legal bills from Jan. 1, 2022-Aug, 22, 2022, and receipts for those bills
total amount the city has spent in outside legal bills on the Knox News lawsuit.
On Sept. 20, 2022, the city provided the amount
The city did not immediately provide receipts due to confusion about the request, but on Sept. 28, the city provided the receipts.
Also on Sept. 20, 2022, Knox News combined the two original open records requests that were denied and added a request
The additional request was for “each and every record, document, electronic file or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance, or in connection with the transaction of the official business of the City of Knoxville in its police chief search.”
Vreeland gave a 372-word response Sept. 28 saying the city has none of the requested records.
“Nothing has changed since our earlier communications re: names of applicants, a demographic breakdown for the field of applicants, applicants' resumes, a schedule of Advisory Committee meetings, and any documents created for or by the Advisory Committee. The City has provided you at the time of your previous requests all responsive records, and there are no additional or subsequent records.”
He went on to offer publicly accessible City Council material or a search of every city employee’s email.
“A search of citywide emails will entail a significant amount of City staff time, resulting in a labor-reimbursement fee to you. Not knowing the number of emails to be found and copied, I am unable at this point to estimate the fee amount, but I would assume it would be at least several hundred dollars, and potentially a much higher fee. How do you wish to proceed?”
Knox News declined this suggestion, figuring that if the mayor's office said it did not have records related to the police chief search, it was unlikely such records would appear in emails from city employees who were not involved in the search.
In a follow-up email Sept. 29, Vreeland reiterated the city’s position on the requests: “The City has produced to you all our public records that are responsive to your requests, and the City is not the legal custodian of PERF's records.”
Why Knox News sued
Knox News sued the city on behalf of taxpayers to see records from the search that ensued after the retirement of Chief Eve Thomas, who left the department while it was dealing with skyrocketing homicide rates and internal investigations. A Knox News investigation showed the department failed to address a culture of racism that extended into the command structure.
What we've learned from the lawsuit
In an October hearing to decide whether Knox News has the right to subpoena city officials, Knox News attorney Rick Hollow and Chancellor John Weaver backed the city’s private attorney, Chris McCarty, into a corner. McCarty admitted the city hired the private search firm so it could skirt open record laws.
“Your honor, obviously when I say – (pause) – the answer is yes because we were trying to eliminate the possibility that those candidates would fear that their names would be disclosed to the public, therefore, questioning and threatening their current jobs, therefore not having them apply in the first place,” McCarty said. “I have to keep bringing that up - that’s the actual motivation here.”
"So, when the question is posed to me that the point is to illicitly get around the statute, it wasn’t. The point was to get the best people for the job. That’s the point. And the statute, in some ways, the way in which Mr. Hollow reads is, which we don’t read it, would chill that.” (Editor's note: Mr. Hollow is Knox News attorney Richard Hollow.)
Weaver directly challenged McCarty's argument: “Does the statute say if there’s a chilling effect you can enter into arrangements with private entities and you can conduct your activities such that there will be no public record?"
A Knox News analysis of police chief searches conducted across the country showed that candidates who apply but are not hired for a top job do not suffer consequences for seeking a new position.
What's the status of the lawsuit now?
Weaver ruled in December that Knox News could depose anyone from the city, putting officials – including Kincannon – under oath to answer questions about the search and the city’s process for the search.
The city filed a motion asking Weaver to reconsider his previous ruling. Weaver has not ruled on the city's motion, which asked for sharp limits on who could be questioned, on what topics and for how long. Limiting depositions is extremely rare.
Tyler Whetstone is a Knox News investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Email tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Twitter @tyler_whetstone.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville mayor releases some police chief search records
