Reward now at $9,500 for info in 'totally random' attack on Knoxville policeman

Travis Dorman | Knoxville

UPDATE: The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 2, contributed $2,000 to the reward Wednesday, bringing the total amount to $9,500. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation contributed $2,500, while the FBI contributed $5,000.

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The FBI is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man who attacked a Knoxville Police Department officer from behind while the officer was directing game-day traffic on the evening of Nov. 17.

Officer B.K. Hardin, a patrolman who has been with the department for 7 years, was released from the hospital two days later. The 51-year-old required surgery after a man ran up and struck him in the back of the head with a hammer or some other blunt object, according to KPD Chief Eve Thomas.

Investigators have not been able to determine a motive for the attack, which occurred shortly after 7:20 p.m. at the intersection of 17th Street and Clinch Avenue as hundreds of football fans were leaving the Tennessee-Missouri game.

"Totally random is what we believe at this point," Thomas said of the motive during a news conference on Nov. 19. "We checked with all the officers in the area. Nobody had had any kind of negative encounter with a suspect matching this description."

The attacker ran west on Clinch Avenue after the assault. A second officer who was stationed at the intersection did not see the attack, Thomas said. A couple of witnesses provided as much information as they could about the assailant, but the resulting description was vague, and police have not located any surveillance footage or dashcam video showing the attack. KPD officers are not equipped with body cameras.

An off-duty firefighter from another county happened to be nearby with medical supplies on hand. He treated Hardin until the officer was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with a head injury that was described as serious but not life-threatening.

Hardin has made "tremendous progress," Thomas said. "Due to his continued recovery, it is expected to be a couple of months before he will be able to return to full duty."

The day after the attack, the police department announced that investigators had located and questioned a "person of interest" in the case. Police released that person due to a lack of evidence, Thomas said. Officers also scoured the area where the attack occurred but did not find a weapon.

Police have described the attacker as a clean-shaven man in his mid-20s. He stands approximately 6 feet tall and weighs roughly 160 pounds. He was wearing light gray pants and a hooded sweatshirt that was either "charcoal gray or faded black."

Investigators continue to seek witnesses who saw anyone "running, acting nervous or looking suspicious" between 7:15 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. on Nov. 17. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department at 865-215-7212 or through the agency's Facebook page. Tips can be made anonymously.