May 15th is Peace Officers Memorial Day, Peace Officers Memorial Day is a part of Police Week, paying tribute to local, State and Federal law enforcement officers. May 15th is also the day the city of Knoxville will say goodbye to longtime Police Chief Dan Losada, as he will retire from the Knoxville Police Department after over 15 years on the job and after almost 40 years in law enforcement. With Chief Losada’s retirement looming, Knoxville City Manager Aaron Adams reflects back on his fondest memory of Chief, and what he has meant to the Knoxville community. Adams says when he and his family arrived in Knoxville over five years ago they were greeted by Chief Losada who made them a homemade lasagna. Adams says he didn’t know it at the time, but the gesture from Chief Losada, is classic Chief Losada, always helping out and making everyone feel welcome as well as being a mentor to other city employees. 

According to Adams, the search for Chief Losada’s replacement is going well as the city recently conducted their first round of interviews last week and has narrowed the field down to the top eight candidates. Adams says the process is moving quickly as the city would like to shorten the gap from the time Chief Losada retires to the time his replacement is named.