Knox County Prosecutor Dirk Carnahan announced that an investigation will be conducted into the performance of Karen Donovan by an investigator from the prosecutor’s office since it is not a criminal case. The state will have to prove that Donovan failed to perform multiple duties, was not performing any duties at all, and that this failure significantly impacted the daily operations of the office in order to remove her from office. Despite Donovan’s recent arrest on drug and official misconduct charges, the charges will not be a factor in the removal process as she is innocent until proven guilty. Carnahan acknowledged that the process is lengthy and complicated and that it is not ideal to add another task to the investigator’s workload at a time when they are already working to reduce violence and prosecute cases related to public safety.
