Former UT security officer loses job over infamous Butch Jones phone call

[jbcarol]

Police officer Sam Brown will not be on the sidelines providing security for Tennessee football games after doing so for the past 19 seasons.

And Brown says it is due to a two-minute phone conversation he had with Butch Jones.

"They relieved me of my duties because of a two-minute phone call I made to Butch Jones about the A.J. Johnson investigation,'' Brown told WNML's Jimmy Hyams.

The phone call came in November of 2014 per the report, the same day that Johnson and Tennessee teammate Michael Williams were accused of rape. Brown claimed to have made at least 100 calls to over four different coaches in his 19 years on the job.

Brown is five months away from retirement.

[cosmodrum]

I really, really don't like that program. Butch Jones is a perfect fit.

[theFlyingHog]

Isn't this saying that the police department and not the university relieved him?

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

He is lucky it wasn't worse

[cosmodrum]

Isn't this saying that the police department and not the university relieved him?

Yep.

[IMABIELEMA]

He didn't actually lose his job.  He just lost the opportunity to provide security to the coaching staff on game day. Without the whole story I'll hold judgement.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/GoVolsXtra/status/766020733508222976

Knoxville police have reassigned the officer who served as liaison to the University of Tennessee's football team for nearly 20 years.

The change, which comes after a series of high-profile sexual assault cases involving football players and other athletes, was effective last week ahead of Knoxville Police Department Officer Sam Brown's retirement in January, according to KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk.

The reassignment resulted from a university suggestion to police after the $2.48 million settlement of a federal Title IX lawsuit against UT in July, said Chris Cimino, senior vice chancellor for finance and administration, who also oversees public safety.

Public records previously obtained by the News Sentinel link Brown to two of the sexual assault cases mentioned in the Title IX lawsuit.

Brown was the first person to call UT football coach Butch Jones just more than five hours after a rape accusation was made against then-players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams in November 2014, according to Jones' phone records.

The accuser in that case was a plaintiff in the Title IX lawsuit. The criminal trials for Johnson and Williams are on hold.

Also mentioned in the lawsuit was a Sept. 20 rape accusation by a female UT student against a then-football player. The lawsuit doesn't name the player, and the woman was not a plaintiff.

The KPD case file revealed Brown was the first to ask investigators in the Sept. 20 case if the player was involved as officers worked to identify a suspect. That case led to no charges for the former player.

Police Chief David Rausch and Cimino said Wednesday that the reassignment was not about Brown, who will be replaced by KPD Officer Fred Kimber.

"This move is not the result of anything that Officer Brown has done or not done," Rausch said in a statement. "We decided to implement the change as a result of the reported concerns that were highlighted regarding the relationship of the Knoxville Police Department and the University of Tennessee football program. In order for the program to move on and avoid further undue scrutiny, it was agreed that we should make the transition at this time."

Title IX lawsuit against UT alleged the university had a "hostile sexual environment" and showed favoritism to athletes accused of sexual assault. After the settlement in July, Cimino said university leaders looked for ways to improve and adopt best practices.

He said one result of that discussion was asking the KPD to make a change similar to one made by UT police before the filing of the lawsuit — to rotate officers associated with the team at least every three years to maintain objectivity and allow for cross-training.

Rausch said Brown will retire Jan. 31 after joining the city's Delayed Retirement Option Program. He praised Brown as "a man of great integrity" and a "dedicated public servant," saying the transition to a new liaison for UT football is something the department has prepared for since Brown joined the retirement program more than a year ago on Feb. 1, 2015.

Jones' phone records, released to the News Sentinel in March through a public records request, show Brown called Jones at 8:20 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2014, the day Johnson and Williams were accused of rape.

[ALLVOL]

He didn't actually lose his job.  He just lost the opportunity to provide security to the coaching staff on game day. Without the whole story I'll hold judgement.

This is correct. And as I've said (some want to say otherwise and that's ok) calling to give a heads up is a common practice for most if not all schools. 

[ALLVOL]

I really, really don't like that program. Butch Jones is a perfect fit.

We like him pretty well.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/GrantRamey/status/766626115339386880

Butch Jones said Thursday that Brown is a good friend, and Jones learned of the change "as everyone else did."

"That was a decision that I had no input in," Jones said.

The reassignment resulted from a university suggestion to police after the $2.48 million settlement of a federal Title IX lawsuit against UT in July, said Chris Cimino, senior vice chancellor for finance and administration, who also oversees public safety.

Public records previously obtained by the News Sentinel link Brown to two of the sexual assault cases mentioned in the Title IX lawsuit.

Brown was the first person to call Jones just more than five hours after a rape accusation was made against then-players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams in November 2014, according to Jones' phone records.