Knoxville Police Chief Aaron Fuller recently began his first full calendar year in the position. Shortly after he started the new role, social injustice issues were raised throughout the country, and police departments nationwide fell under scrutiny. He says that even though Knoxville did not see violence, it was a tough year for all officers.

“Even though we didn’t see the physical side of the protests and the riots doesn’t mean that we didn’t feel that emotionally and psychologically. People seem to lump others into one category. There’s a lot going into the way we make each other feel, and it affects us. Right, wrong, or indifferent, maybe it should, maybe it shouldn’t, it does. We’re not bad people, we’re not the bad guys, we’re not the ones out committing crime, we’re here to stop those people. I think the vast majority of people understand that, it’s just when you see that over and over again, it gets to you.”

While Fuller says it’s been a tough year for officers, he says he’s grateful for the community’s overwhelming support of the department’s ventures throughout the past calendar year.