Knox County juvenile detention center chief fires only nurse after she fought for kids' safety

Knox County mayor calls out apparent retaliation at juvenile detention center

KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs is calling out issues at the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center after Richard Bean, the superintendent at center, fired two employees in apparent retaliation for reporting problems at the center, Jacobs said. Jacobs said that one of the two employees was the center's only nurse, leaving it without qualified medical personnel and therefore unable to meet requirements of state law. …

Mayor's letter to governor: Whistleblower retaliation, other concerns require immediate new leadership at juvenile detention center

Earlier this week, two Richard L. Bean detention center employees allegedly faced retaliation for alerting state investigators to problems at the facility.

Knox County juvenile detention center chief fires only nurse after she fought for kids' safety

Richard L. Bean reversed course on the firing under pressure from Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Juvenile Court Judge Tim Irwin.

The head of Knoxville’s Richard L. Bean detention center will retire after ‘loss of confidence’ in his leadership

Richard L. Bean, the longtime superintendent of the East Tennessee juvenile detention center that bears his name, abruptly announced he is stepping down. His decision to retire comes the day after the Knox County mayor said issues at the facility caused him to lose confidence in the superintendent, and years after a WPLN and ProPublica investigation exposed Bean’s unlawful use of solitary confinement.  Bean could not be immediately reached for c…