His humor is so, so bad, it’s actually real funny. At least to some. And from a recent social media post about him, we extracted three comments. Most revealing, too. Many consider him among the most well-liked and top officers at the Knoxville Police Department (KPD).
This grandfather and veteran of 28 years at KPD tells us one of his favorite jokes: “When is a car not a car? When it turns into a driveway!”
And then he laughs at his own joke.
Det. Pete Franzen had his picture “photoshopped” by Property Crimes Sgt. Jeff Holmes after the Veterans Day parade in 2023. It now hangs on a wall in the Property Crimes squad room.
And a citizen who has dealt with him shares their thoughts: “… One of the best sergeants ever! You can’t have a bad day around this man, no matter how much trouble you’re in.”
Det. Sgt. Pete Franzen
Let’s meet Det. Sgt. Pete C. Franzen of the KPD Property Crimes Unit (PCU), a supervisor working under Unit Commander Lt. James Burrell. It’s important to mention Lt. Burrell, because he and his seven detectives and two polygraph operators must “endure” Franzen’s daily doses of his special brand of humor. OK – one more sampling from his computer database of jokes: “Listen up! We have a suspect in this theft of luggage. It should be a brief case!”
Today, we honor Franzen as this week’s “Our Town Hero” for his dedication, years of service and how he conducts himself.
If you count three years working in Corrections for the Knox County Sheriff’s Office just prior to KPD, he’s been in law enforcement for 31 years. When we asked him to describe his personality, a surprise popped up. He said: “Believe it or not I had to learn how to be outgoing and my time working in the jail helped me. I learned how do deal with people on different levels. My rapport with the inmates and my other officers changed my life and made me a better police officer. My shyness disappeared. Being outgoing is a learned skill for me and my mouth and humor are tools for me.”
It’s not hard to conclude how much he loves his work and the variety of assignments and skills he’s accumulated as he tells you about it. Here’s how his career has progressed to today:
- Hired by KPD in January 1997; graduated from the KPD Police Academy in July 1997.
- Assigned to Patrol for 3 ½ years
- Transferred to Internet Crimes Against Children for 1 ½ years
- Back to Patrol for a year
- Assigned to the Canine Unit for 7 years
- Then back to Patrol for a year.
- Joined the Organized Crime Unit in 2010
- Gang and Intelligence Unit for 5 years
- Promoted to Sergeant for the East District for 4 years
- Moved to Central Business District for 3 years
- Transferred to the Property Crimes Unit in October 2022
He’s also a Team Leader on the KPD Mobile Field Force of 30 that is deployed for major events and demonstrations plus City Council meetings and major downtown events. Franzen spends his Sunday mornings working traffic and security at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church on Kingston Pike.
“I’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s been a well-rounded career, but I still feel like a rookie learning things and learning new things every day. It’s fun,” he says. And this guy understands fun. “What we all do – these are very serious jobs and sometimes you need a few moments of laughter for a little relief from the pressure.”
Franzen, 57, is a native of Lakeland, Florida, who earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of South Florida in 1990. His interest in cop work began in Lakeland when he was a shy little guy who hung around a convenience store. “Every morning a Florida state trooper would stop in for coffee and I tried to be there just to listen. His uniform was perfect and his car was perfect too. I watched and listened and decided then that’s what I wanted to do. He always tried to help people and I wanted to be that guy. He looked the part of someone you needed if you are in trouble.” He also spent hours watching two TV shows then – “Adam 12” and “Emergency.”
After college he applied for and was given an internship with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Lakeland. “A lot of that internship included ride-alongs with the officers and I knew then that I’d love to be a part of this for my career.”
A few years later, in 1996, he was headed to Hendersonville, North Carolina, to visit family and passed through Knoxville and really liked what he saw and felt here. “I started researching it and I was sold on it and I’m still here and will always be here,” he says.
He’s single now and has three adult sons – one here and two living out of town, along with the grandson, Owen, who is 4.
Solving property crime cases can be interesting – sometimes. So, he shared two cases that involved animals.
“We got a call about a burglary when I was in patrol. The owner of the home had died, and neighbors saw people going in and out. While we were searching the house, we kept hearing someone say ‘hello’. So, we are calling back to them trying to get them to come to us. We ended up searching the house and found our “suspect” – a Cockatoo. He had been left behind when the owners passed away. We called animal control, and they came and got him.”
And the second case was about a snake. “It was about two years ago. This young guy (around 20) goes into a pet store and grabbed a baby python about 2 feet long and stuffed it down his pants. The best part was the employees all knew him because he was in there all the time. Not our brightest criminal here. The next morning our detective knocked on his door and he handed it over. I don’t think my detective expected an immediate surrender. Caught him a little off guard. Once the store got their snake back, they called it a wash and told the kid never to come back. Just being stupid. He was not charged.”
When he does relax, it’s watching his beloved Major League Baseball Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves on TV, along with the Nashville Predators NHL team. Traveling is a hobby as is reading, especially books and history with different perspectives on issues, he says.
And Franzen wanted us to leave you with the best bad corny joke he’s ever told: “Hey guys, we had a brush factory broken into last night. Patrol is combing the area!”
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.
Our Town Hero is sponsored by Aubrey’s Restaurants.
