What an interesting fellow we have here at the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office!

  • He works in a jail, helping supervise approximately 125 inmates.
  • He’s a 1994 graduate of Tellico Plains High School.
  • For four years he was an active-duty U.S. Marine as logistics specialist as a lance corporal. “Once a Marine always a Marine,” he says, giving us the Marine motto “Semper Fi” along with a big “Ooh-rah.”
  • Scuba diving has been a job and hobby.
  • As an emergency medical technician (EMT) he delivered a little girl in the back of an AMR ambulance on the way to Parkwest Medical Center. “Mom and her baby did great.”

Sgt. Chris Martin

Sgt. Chris Martin is the “fellow” and in 2023 his work ethic, dedication and effectiveness led to his being awarded a major LCSO honor as the department’s Supervisor of the Year, nominated for the recognition by his supervisor, Capt. Dusty Langley.

Today, we join in honoring Martin as a KnoxTNToday “Our Town Hero” for his impact and service to the LCSO and to his community.

This humble man, 49, a man of few words, said this about his award: “I was shocked, not sure I deserved it. I prefer to fly under the radar and let others be recognized.”

Martin joined the LCSO in August 2022 following his Marine years, after managing a Coki Dive Center that included his expertise as a divemaster, leading many recreational divers on dives in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, and as a corrections officer in the McMinn County Sheriff’s Office plus two years as an ambulance EMT with AMR.

But his work in the jail is special. “It’s different every day. We have good days and bad days and some trying times here and there with some of the inmates,” he says. “Those of us who work in corrections have to learn how to treat inmates fairly. We work with people with very different personalities and temperaments.”

LCSO Sheriff Jimmy Davis promoted Martin to sergeant in September 2023. In addition to his interactions with inmates and his supervisory responsibilities, Martin helps review the criminal history of each inmate, part of the process to classify the inmates and decide where to house them in the jail. “We’re sensitive to the gang-related inmates, the really violent offenders and those with drug-related charges,” he said. Like all jobs, there’s the paperwork and administrative responsibilities to make sure each shift runs smoothly and to schedule such things as prisoner transports.

Capt. Langley supervises the correctional facility’s 54 employees and its average daily population of 125 inmates. Martin says the male-female breakdown is approximately 100 males and 25 females. The facility can accommodate a population of 270.

Martin is hoping to eventually move into a patrol position at LCSO and he says working in the jail is a perfect pre-patrol learning experience. “It teaches you how to communicate and talk with people with different personalities and to deescalate and defuse tough situations. You run into these same issues on patrol. You learn how to calm people down and work to control their combative behaviors.”

He cited the introduction of body cameras two years ago for all jail employees in reducing confrontational issues and violence in the jail. “I’ve never been attacked but I have helped break up fights between inmates,” he added.

His better half (“By far,” he says) is Karen Stephens Martin, who was a Loudon County 911 dispatcher when they met in 2003 – and they’ve been together since. When they met, he was a volunteer firefighter for Loudon County Fire Rescue. She is now the dispatch manager for Roane Transportation Services in Rockwood.

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.