To help you understand what makes Knox County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. James Troutt “tick” and why’s he is today’s Our Town Hero, keep these quotes in mind:
“I have a K-9 handler who pours everything into his family – both at work and at home. If someone has a need James is the first in line.” – Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler
“I can’t say no when someone needs a hand with jobs and things, and I tell the kids when you do an act of kindness to always do it when no one’s looking. And we’re teaching our kids why this matters so much.” – Sgt. James Troutt
“I am not a being-in-the-spotlight type of guy.” – James Troutt
Troutt, 43, joined the KCSO 21 years ago, thanks to a buddy who was then a KCSO corrections deputy, Larry Cruze.
“I was trying to figure out where to work and Larry talked me into joining the sheriff’s officers. I did some ride-alongs on patrol and I was hooked,” he says.
KCSO’s K-9 unit is one of the largest in the southeastern U.S. with 19 canine “deputies.” Troutt and K-9 Deputy Sgt. Chris Wallace share the job of training both the dogs and their KCSO handlers.
“It’s a 10- week initial course (300 hours) with 16 hours of monthly maintenance training required for the life of the dog,” he explains. “We also do a weeklong in-service where we test in criminal apprehension, area search, building search, obedience, and also test on narcotics and EOD (explosive detection).”
Since 2017, Troutt and Wallace have trained 50 handlers and have led roughly two courses per year, including some training at outside agencies.
That’s a peek into his work family. And at home?
Troutt and his wife of 15 years, Annissa, are rearing six children in their Halls home, ranging in age from 8 to 18. And yes, this is intentional. “We both wanted a big family that we could raise together.
“Annissa is the reason it all works,” he says. “She does it all pretty much.”
Five of the kids attend one school and have the same teacher. Annissa home schools them at The Troutt School.
It is a unique family, to put it mildly. Let’s meet the kids.
- Daughter Brinlee is the oldest at 18 and is Troutt’s daughter from his first marriage. She recently graduated from Gibbs High School and is now studying criminal justice at Roane State Community College.
- Son Blaine, 13, a seventh-grade student.
- Daughter Blakely Kay was adopted in 2012 and is 13, a seventh grader.
- Son Bo was adopted in 2013 and will be 12 on August 14. He is a sixth grader.
- Daughter Birdie Mae, 8, a second-grade student.
- Daughter Blair, now 8, was adopted on Aug. 5, 2019, the same day Annissa delivered Birdie Mae at the old St. Mary’s Hospital. She is a second grader.
The adopted kids are biological siblings whose mother died. They were adopted through the state Department of Children’s Services.
The kids all have chores, and that includes daily visits to the 12 laying hens to collect the eggs. Grocery shopping is an expensive part of a family budget, but Troutt says his wife is “extremely frugal and somehow she keeps it within the budget, most of the time.”
As if he needs more to do, Troutt says he and his two boys have been operating a small business for a little over a year now – Creekside Home Services. “We do clean-out services for a local house flipping company and we hope to start mowing, pressure washing, doing some land and house clean up, gutters cleaned out and pick up/delivery with our 16-foot trailer,” he says. He says you can find them on Facebook.
And about that KCSO work family? His first KSCO job was as a corrections officer at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Center working in maximum security, followed by working patrol division to being a K-9 officer. His first K-9 partner was a German Shepherd name Kinte and after Kinte retired, he and Argo were partners until he died in 2022. His partner today is a bloodhound named Blu, who is part of the family at their home.
Sgt. James Troutt and K-9 Blu
“You get very close and love these dogs and they become part of you,” he said.
In 2017, Troutt and Wallace took the KCSO training positions they love. Of his career, he reflects, “It’s been a long career and it comes with its stresses and strains, especially when I was on patrol. In narcotics I was frequently called out and Annissa did suffer a lot then for six years when I was gone so much. She was the one carrying the burden.”
He recounts a major stress one night in 2014 in the parking lot of a bar on Chapman Highway. He and another officer had gone there to arrest a man. The man jumped behind a car when he and Troutt were face-to-face, some 30 feet between them. The man started firing at Troutt and the other officer. “I was on the passenger side of the car taking cover and he shot out the mirror, which was too close,” he remembered. “So, we returned fire and the man didn’t make it.”
Asked how he felt afterwards, Troutt said: “It’s an unfortunate part of my career. I was fortunate to have survived. The part most people don’t understand is having to explain to your loved ones what happened, but not be able to disclose details because of investigations. That man had a family just like I did. By the grace of God and the training afforded to me I was able to survive. Taking a life is hard.”
“We never know what’s next,” he added.
While working in narcotics, he was driving down Gap Road off Tillery Road. “I saw a woman sitting on the bridge above I-640 and stopped and started talking to her. I was behind her and she put her legs over the bridge and was jumping. I grabbed her and pulled her back,” Troutt remembers. “She was in her early 30s and had a suicide note in her pocket. It read, ‘I’m tired of life and don’t want to continue hurting people.’”
And then he added: “We’re people too and we have a heart to serve. We have compassion and treat everyone with respect.”
Yet another reason why he’s a Hero!
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.