Brian
Our officers are trained to try to calm a situation, assist the family, and solve their issues—a very proactive approach in law enforcement.
As a law enforcement officer at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, Brian has safety and security on his mind. Even when he isn’t at work, he’s alert to what is going on around him. That attentiveness to detail even in his off-duty hours has enabled him to save lives—on not one but two separate occasions.
A few years ago, Brian was driving to work in Knoxville, Tennessee, and noticed smoke rising from a home nearby. A fire had started on the deck outside and was traveling up the walls. Brian leaped out of his vehicle, ran toward the house while calling 911 and then beat on the door to warn anyone who was inside. The house’s occupants, a woman and her disabled daughter, were unaware of any danger. As they made their way outside, Brian dipped water from a nearby swimming pool to slow the flames’ progress until firefighters arrived on the scene. Then, with melted shoes and smoky clothes, he headed off to work at the medical center—an exciting start to the day.
Brian started work at UT Medical Center Knoxville in 1983, only 13 years after hospitals began to establish their own police departments. In the 1970s laws had been passed to give hospital security personnel the authority to take on expanded duties as law enforcement officers. They were required to meet higher standards of training and education by attending police academies. Today, officers at the medical center attend the Knox County Sheriff’s Department training academy or the Walter’s State Community College police academy.
The primary goal of the medical center’s security department is to provide for the safety and welfare of everyone in the facility at all times. Uniformed officers and marked patrol vehicles create a sense of security and protection on the part of families and patients as well as employees. They also provide invaluable support services: aiding distressed motorists, managing crowds, directing traffic, offering safety escorts and much more.
The University of Tennessee Medical Center is a Level I Trauma Center brings in many patients and visitors in connection with traumatic events such as automobile or ATV crashes or other injury-causing accidents. The officers help protect these stressed, vulnerable patients and visitors and defuse tense situations.
When there are problems of this kind, they’re often domestic in nature. “If an individual is involved in a traumatic situation with injury or illness, their family members can sometimes be very emotional and act irrationally,” says Brian. “Our officers are trained to try to calm a situation, assist the family and solve their issues—a very proactive approach in law enforcement.”
To put it another way, the medical center officers are trained to identify risks and take measures that will best secure the safety of all involved. During times when “emotions are high and reasoning is low,” an officer’s presence can help stabilize the situation. Intervening to reestablish order and safety, then following through to make sure all parties are comfortable with the outcome, gets to be second nature to officers on and off duty.
Not long ago, again on his way to work, Brian noticed smoke coming from a vacuum-repair business. He knew the owner sometimes slept there and called 911 immediately. The building already was in flames and, when firefighters arrived, he told them he thought someone might be inside. Sure enough, the owner was asleep in the building. He was carried out by the fire crew, gasping for air. And Brian? His uncanny ability to be at the right place at the right time was all in the day’s work.
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Law Enforcement Officer