'Thank you to Officer G. Thank you to his family' | Community gathers to remember KPD officer who died at 57

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department announced Sunday that 57-year-old KPD Lieutenant Gordon Gwathney — better known as "Officer G" had passed suddenly.

On Thursday evening, dozens of people, including Gwathney's family, friends and patrol squad, attended a community vigil. He served the Knoxville Police Department for nearly 30 years, most of that time spent focused on East Knoxville.

East District Commander Nevin Long said the turnout demonstrated the impact he had on the community.

"It was always about how do I help others instead of himself. Just the fact that he's got relationships with kids from Austin East. He was an SRO over 20-something years ago, and still would come by and show photos of them and their progress in life," Long said.

Gwathney was the first schoo