TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Dec 12, 2022

A new agreement between the Knoxville Police Department and Police Advisory and Review Committee (PARC) formalizes interactions between the two entities for the first time, Tennessee Lookout reports. The new agreement reportedly gives PARC staff greater access to the department’s disciplinary process and the ability to refer complaints to third-party mediation. It also codifies a number of informal procedures, according to officials. PARC was created in 1998 following the deaths of four men (three of whom were Black) in confrontations with police. Officers were cleared of wrongdoing, but the Black community lashed out at what they perceived to be a culture of brutality and indifference. The committee is comprised of seven volunteers, a full-time executive director and an investigative manager.