John Thomas introduced as new Rocky Top police chief
Rocky Top’s new chief of police, John Thomas (right), talks with (from left) City Councilman Jeff Gilliam, Carolyn Templin, and Rocky Top Police Officer Jackie Phillips during a recent meet-and-greet event for the chief at Rocky Top City Hall. (photo:G Chambers Williams III )
Thomas, who most recently was a detective with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, began his new job on Sept. 19, 10 days before the official retirement of now former Chief James “Jim” Shetterly Jr.
“I think he’s going to be great for the city,” Mayor Kerry Templin said during the event recognizing Thomas. “He’s going to give us a fresh view. He has an excellent background. We have some vacancies on the department now, and I think he will do a good job filling those.”
Templin and the new Rocky Top city manager, Mike Ellis, were instrumental in hiring Thomas for the chief’s position.
Shetterly told The Courier News that he was forced out of the job by the mayor and city manager, but had been allowed to resign rather than be fired.
A major issue cited as a reason for replacing Shetterly was the 15 or so street people who hang out daily in the downtown area. Some residents have been pushing for the Police Department to do something to force the street people out of the city, but Shetterly and former City Manager Michael Foster have said there’s no legal way to do that.
Thomas said that when he heard about the opening for police chief in Rocky Top, he decided almost immediately to apply.
He lives in Knoxville now, but said he and his family are planning to move to Rocky Top.
Besides his recent job with the Sheriff’s Office, Thomas said he also has served on the Oak Ridge and Clinton police departments, and has worked in a contract security position for the U.S. State Department.
“I always wanted to be a cop,” Thomas told The Courier News.
“This was a good step up in my career,” he said. “Teaching and mentoring are something I like to do, and are a big part of the job.
“I want to help improve the delivery of [police] services to the people of Rocky Top.”
Thomas and his wife, Christen, have five children – four of them grown, and one, a 16-year-old girl, still at home, he said.
They also have two grandsons.