Suspected Overdose Death Statistics

In response to the devastating spike of overdose deaths in Knox County, the Drug Related Task Force is proactively analyzing suspected overdose deaths. Law enforcement is analyzing data in real time to pinpoint significant trends, location hotspots and supply sources in order to stem the opioid epidemic in our community.

To view the 2016 Fatal Overdose Victims and the Criminal Justice System report, click here.

The following data sets show the number of suspected drug overdose deaths in Knox County from information provided by the Knox County Forensic Center. In an effort to identify suspected drug overdose deaths as soon as possible, this data is initially obtained before a death is determined an overdose. Once a determination is made by the medical examiner, the data is updated, causing it to fluctuate over time.

Suspected Overdose Death Statistics

Total Deaths for 2017 | 2018

DeathsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep010203040

DateDeaths

Jan31

Feb27

Mar19

Apr23

May31

Jun22

Jul24

Aug22

Sep4

Total Year to Date Deaths for 2018: 203

2018 Monthly statistics:

• January

• February

• March

• April

• May

• June

• July

• August

• September

Deaths for September 2018

Deaths09/01/201809/02/201809/03/201809/04/201809/05/201809/06/20180246

DateDeaths

09/01/20180

09/02/20182

09/03/20180

09/04/20181

09/05/20180

09/06/20181

Total Deaths for September 2018: 4

The Drug Related Task Force is an inter-agency investigation and prosecution team who examines overdoses that occur in Knox County as a means to combat the opiate epidemic. Founded under the direction of the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA), the task force consists of the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office, Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration and Knox County Regional Forensic Center. The goal of the task force is to decrease overdoses by holding drug dealers accountable when their drug trafficking leads to overdose deaths. The task force also gains intelligence about the opiate epidemic that can be used by member agencies and others across the country to fight this increasing problem.