KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – The longtime leader of the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center in Knox County has filed a federal filed a federal lawsuit last year and damaged his reputation through public statements tied to a personnel dispute at the facility.
Richard L. Bean, who served as director of the center from 1972 until May 2025, filed the complaint Monday, naming Knox County, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Judge Timothy Irwin.
According to the complaint, Bean met with Irwin in May 2025 about a nurse assigned to the detention center and said he planned to give the employee the option to resign or be terminated. The lawsuit says Irwin initially had no objection, but Bean later claims county officials reversed course after the nurse was fired.
Bean alleges he was called into a meeting with Jacobs, county law department officials and a personnel representative, where he was presented with a document reinstating the nurse and another employee and told to sign it. The complaint says he was told the move was needed because of a potential whistleblower claim. Bean contends the terminations were justified and that the employees had no valid claim against the county.
The lawsuit further alleges Jacobs and Irwin contributed to negative media coverage that portrayed Bean and the detention center in a false light, including statements that Jacobs had “lost confidence” in Bean and that conditions at the center required urgent state intervention. Bean says he resigned May 30, 2025, effective Aug. 1, 2025, because the situation would have compelled a reasonable person to step down.
Bean also brings an age discrimination claim under the Tennessee Human Rights Act, alleging he was 85 at the time and was replaced by someone “substantially younger.” That person, Brian Bivens, resigned in November, and Irwin has taken over the position.
Below is a link to the lawsuit in its entirety:
https://www.scribd.com/document/1032075509/Richard-L-Bean-Lawsuit#fullscreen=1&from_embed
