Knoxville police will no longer make 'courtesy calls' to Tennessee
The University of Tennessee will no longer be receiving phone calls deemed "courtesy calls" from the Knoxville Police Department.
Per a statement released Friday afternoon, the police department is ending the practice, which came to light when facts regarding the investigations into rape accusations by Tennessee football players went public. In the initial hours after ex-players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams were accused of rape in November 2014, Knoxville's police chief communicated with Tennessee coach Butch Jones four times via phone.
From the Knoxville News Sentinel:
"After reviewing our long-standing practice of courtesy notifications to the University of Tennessee administration of incidents involving UT students, it is clear that no investigations were compromised or improper information provided," Rausch said in a prepared statement released Friday.
"But in the interest of transparency and to alleviate any appearance of conflict of interest, we have changed the previous practice, to ensure that investigators focus without hindrance on finding the facts and bringing justice to victims of crime.
"Going forward, in any incident involving a student at the University, KPD will make formal notification only to UT law enforcement, as required by state law and as part of our ongoing interdepartmental cooperation."
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The statement comes after the police department had declined requests for interview by the News Sentinel regarding the practice of calling coaches. The Knox County District Attorney's office had said it was against the practice and the calls may have violated state law.
Johnson and WIlliams were suspended indefinitely after the allegations. They could face trial this summer.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!