Harkins retires, praises new Farragut traffic head Davis

Serving Town of Farragut for almost a decade after retiring as a captain with Knox County Sheriff’s Office, which ended a 32-year career in law enforcement, Ben Harkins has decided to retire as the Town’s Traffic Enforcement manager.

“After nine years with the Town of Farragut and sending out red light camera tickets, effective (Friday June 29), I will no longer be doing that,” Harkins, a member of Rotary Club of Farragut, announced during a RCF meeting Wednesday, June 27.

“I want to thank you for supporting me so much.”

Serving the Town since 2009, “I’m ready to find something else to do,” Harkins said following the meeting. “I’m excited to see what’s in the future.”

In law enforcement, “I was actually the West District captain with the sheriff’s office at the time when Farragut first started considering the red-light camera program,” Harkins said. “At that time, Mayor Eddy Ford asked me if I would assist the Town (in) determining with whether they could have a red light camera program.

Jennifer Davis, who recently retired as a sergeant with Chattanooga Police Department, replaced Harkins and started her duties May 15.

“She’s a good fit,” Harkins said about Davis.

Her goal is “to get these folks to stop running red lights,” she said.