Millington Police Chief Frank Tennant resigned and Lt. Tully Reed was terminated Tuesday amid a state investigation into missing money seized by the police department months ago from a dead man’s home, according to the Commercial Appeal.
Millington City Manager Ed Haley announced the police chief’s resignation along with news that a veteran police officer with the department was fired for dereliction of duties on the city’s website Tuesday. Haley said others may follow.
Sources with knowledge of the city investigation say another high-ranking officer also will be terminated.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called in last month to investigate what happened to almost $20,000 that was in police custody. On Tuesday, city officials said they are reviewing the practices of the police department.
…In a statement late Tuesday, Tennant said city officials “have undermined and circumvented his authority to the detriment of the City of Millington and the detriment of the criminal investigation to locate the missing money.”
He noted that neither he nor the two other officers implicated in the case have been accused of wrongdoing. “The simple fact is that there was a theft from behind a 500-pound steel door in the secured Property Room and the City of Millington chose to vilify career law enforcement officers with exemplary records instead of waiting for the guilty party or parties to be identified.”
