Knoxville policing continues to harm our Black community - here's hoping for change

Hello,

I hope everyone is having a great week. My heart is extremely heavy after learning about the horrific incident that claimed the lives of ten Black men and women in Buffalo, New York, this past weekend.

The tragedy is just another example of how white supremacy and extremism continue to reign in our country and claim lives. At Knox News and as journalists we are making sure we are not amplifying extremists and their messages, focusing more on the people who are harmed by these ideologies and injustice.

Now is an important time to highlight a very important story by my colleague Tyler Whetstone, that shows once again, more of the internal issues going on within the Knoxville Police Department and how a young Black woman was wrongfully brutalized in what many are calling a "disturbing incident."

Trinity Clark, a college student at Tennessee State University in Nashville, had an alarming and traumatic encounter with a Knoxville police officer last year which has now come to light after some great reporting and video footage from our newsroom.

In August, Clark was confronted late at night by officer Joseph Roberts. Clark was tackled, her top torn from her, kneeled on, and handcuffed. She was exposed topless and terrified in a front yard on Linden Avenue.

Like many Black Americans across America, any encounter with a law enforcement officer places you in fear of your life. Clark says she was no exception.

As we head into a new chapter with a new police chief, Paul Noel, I hope that we see some changes from top to bottom in the quality of officers and policing we see in the Black community, and as usual, we will continue to provide valuable reporting about it.

Knox News tops in Golden Press Card

Last week our newsroom took home more awards than any other media outlet in our city, showing just how talented and valuable the work we are doing is to our community and how we are making changes in the way we do this work.

I was honored to receive first place in feature reporting. Check out how we placed and some of the brilliant work from last year that was awarded.

BEST OF SHOW - ALL MEDIA

Article: DA releases police cam video under pressure from media, families

Reporters: Tyler Whetstone, Monica Kast, Isabel Lohman

Knox News journalists report on the fight for public release of body camera footage of the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Anthony J. Thompson at Austin-East Magnet High School in 2021.

HORACE V. WELLS JR. COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD - ALL MEDIA

Article: Knox County immigration enforcement may be illegal

Reporters: Tyler Whetstone, Jesse Fox Mayshark of Compass Knox

Knox News and Compass Knox reporters team up to investigate a Knox County immigration enforcement policy that should have been approved by the Knox County Commission but wasn’t.

BEST DIGITAL CONTENT - ALL MEDIA

Article: Wildfires, racist cops and an iconic senator’s career comes to a close

Reporter: Tyler Whetstone

BEST PODCAST - ALL MEDIA

Podcast: The Scruffy Stuff

Journalists: Ryan Wilusz, Brenna McDermott, Calvin Mattheis

BEST NEWS VIDEO - ALL MEDIA

Video: Five years later, helicopter pilot shares reflections on 2016 Gatlinburg fire

Photojournalist: Brianna Paciorka

DEADLINE/BREAKING NEWS REPORTING – NEWSPAPER

Article: Capitol insurrection: ‘Shots fired’

Reporter: Tyler Whetstone

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett provided a live account to a Knox News reporter as chaos erupted in the nation's capital as supporters of President Donald Trump swarmed the U.S. Capitol building.

FEATURE REPORTING – NEWSPAPER

Article: Danny Mayfield forever changed Knoxville politics. Many wonder what could have been

Reporter: Angela Dennis

GENERAL REPORTING – NEWSPAPER

Article: Knoxville police commanders covered up cop’s racist behavior

Reporter: Tyler Whetstone

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS REPORTING – NEWSPAPER

Article: Knoxville considers, quashes open container proposal

Reporter: Ryan Wilusz

PANDEMIC REPORTING – NEWSPAPER

Article: COVID cases undercounts, lack of access to vaccines and the personal toll

Reporters: Vincent Gabrielle, Isabel Lohman

PERSONAL COLUMNS/REVIEW/CRITICISM – NEWSPAPER

Article: Tennessee football under new leadership

Reporter: Blake Toppmeyer

SERIES/PACKAGE/PROJECT WRITING – NEWSPAPER

Article: DA releases police cam video under pressure from media, families

Reporters: Tyler Whetstone, Monica Kast, Isabel Lohman

SPORTS REPORTING NEWSPAPER – NEWSPAPER

Article: The night Lane Kiffin left Knoxville lives in infamy

Reporter: Adam Sparks

Catch you all next week!

Angela Dennis is the Knox News social justice, race and equity reporter. You can reach her by email at angela.dennis@knoxnews.com or by phone at 865-407-9712. Follow her on Twitter @AngeladWrites; Instagram @angeladenniswrites; and Facebook at Angela Dennis Journalist.