A trusty, multi-functional Swiss Army knife is handy. It’s only 2.28 inches in length. Compact, personified with its iconic knife blade, screwdrivers, can openers, bottle openers, toothpicks, tweezers and a nail file.

The Knoxville Police Dept. (KPD) has its own special Swiss Army knife – “The Lori Anne Banks Model” – and she’s right handy as well. Multiple tools. Totes a Glock on her belt. An honored community service officer and an Officer of the Month. Investigator of various crimes. Public speaker. Teaches gun safety and drug safety classes, among others, to an array of people.

Officer Lori Banks

The Banks Swiss knife model of today is 52, stands 5-5 and is this week’s first responder “Our Town Hero.”  She’s an East Knox County product, Carter High graduate, class of ’92, and then earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Tennessee. Her KPD career spans 24 years; she is a 2002 police academy graduate and one of 55 uniformed women officers.

Today she is part of the Community Partnership Office (CPO), a team of nine officers, three each serving the city’s three districts. Or as Banks says of the team: “… The CPOs are the Swiss Army knives of the department. We are versatile and do a multitude of different jobs and do them well.”

She is on the North District team. She has no assigned patrol beat, but when patrol “is overwhelmed” CPO officers step in to help. “We don’t usually run emergency calls but do follow-ups on vehicle and house break-ins and we also assist detectives in some of their cases,” she explained. “We participate in community events and speak at schools, churches and businesses when asked.”

This CPO position is her favorite. “It’s a combination of things. I get to teach. I get to work patrol some and help with detective work. I get to meet new people from all walks of life and I just love coming to work.”

She lived in Fountain City for 10 years and developed a love and appreciation for this “city” within our city, for its residents and for the historic 201-year-old Fountain City Park and the FC Lake. It has, she says, a special place in her heart along with North Knoxville that she patrolled for five years.

“Three years ago, I was at the park and saw drug needles and the homeless people everywhere, and then I saw a homeless man and woman in the grass having sex in public, and I decided I’d seen enough,” Banks explained. “It was unsafe for kids and everyone. That day it became a goal of mine to clean up the park and get rid of the 20 or so homeless who slept there. I decided I didn’t want this all going on any longer. And it doesn’t. The homeless have all but disappeared.”

In 2023, her KPD days began and ended at Fountain City Park. She has spent hours and hours there. “Every single day as soon as I leave my home, even now, I start my day by stopping to check on things there, and that’s where I end my shift every day. Heck, I’m there so much that some of the homeless have called the mayor and chief to complain about me.”

Many in Fountain City knew of her passion and work on behalf of their beloved community and their special park. This past Memorial Day — Monday, May 25 — was the annual Fountain City Day event, and Banks was honored with the prestigious 2026 Friend of Fountain City award.

She was not there to accept it, but was enjoying a previously scheduled beach vacation. East District Capt. Nevin Long accepted the award on her behalf.  She was honored for working closely with Fountain City residents and business owners to address public safety and quality-of-life issues. Richly deserved. “I was honored to receive the award because it told me that someone was paying attention to the hard work that I had put in,” Banks says.

She was “an all over the city” patrol officer during her first five years at KPD. From 2007 to 2016, she was a part of the Safety Education Unit, which she says helped her become what she calls a “teaching officer.” In 2017, she segued into what was perfect for her, joining the KPD Safety City staff and its unique programs for school children and the public.

If you’ve never been there and taken your children there, it’s worth the trip. Safety City is a child-sized, miniature city located at 165 S. Concord St. It teaches children vital pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular and fire safety skills through hands-on practice. Banks was there for five years, and her work there led to another major honor – the 2020 Community Service Award for her tireless work and innovative alterations to the Safety City operations to improve the overall educational experience and reach.

So, what drew her to KPD and her career? “All I can say is that I’ve always felt this passion for it. What better way than law enforcement to help the citizens and town where I was both born and raised? I just had this urge after college,” she explains, thinking back. “I like to stand up for people. There are lots of bullies in this world, and I like to stand up for victims and be there for them.”

And maybe an experience from long ago at her now-demolished Ramsey Elementary School had something to do with her career choice. “I still remember my first interaction with police. This was in the county and deputies from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office came to our school to interact with us. I remember sitting in the car, shaking hands, taking pictures. Listening and watching them. I’ve never forgotten that day.”

Here a few more tidbits that define her:

  • When she entered UT she was thinking about becoming a physical therapist. Then it was maybe teaching school before she studied criminal justice.
  • She collects shark teeth and has “jars and jars at home” and has a large one hanging in her patrol car.
  • She also collects Challenge Coins, a small medallion or token bearing an organization’s insignia. They are now widely used across law enforcement, fire departments, the military, government agencies and corporations. A coin of honor.
  • She loves to relax by hiking and biking.

Two incidents help explain the dangers of her job. “A few years back I was cutting the grass in front of my house, and a car stopped in the road next to my yard, and a woman got out. I recognized her. She started yelling at me and cussing me like you wouldn’t believe. I had arrested her two days before on drug charges. She said she was calling her buddies to come take care of me. I called for help and help came. Turns out her mother lives two doors down from me, and I didn’t know her mother. I sold my house and moved out within the week.”

Not long after that she and her mother were shopping, and she saw a young man, 17, whom she had arrested the previous day on a charge of possessing crack cocaine and attempting to sell the cocaine to other young people. “I was lucky. My hair was down and he didn’t recognize me. It could have been ugly.”

Fairly soon she’ll have 25 years in at KPD and retirement does cross her mind, but she’s not made any decisions on when to pull the trigger. What she’ll do once retired has also crossed her mind: “… I think I’d like to maybe be a substitute teacher. Yep.”

Watching her in a class could become a spectator sport!

Tom King is a weekly contributor to KnoxTNToday, where he writes the column Our Town Hero, honoring the service of our first responders. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email Tom using the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562. Enjoyed this article?

Read more Our Town Hero columns by Tom King, sponsored by Aubrey’s Restaurants.

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