KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE: A Knox County deputy briefly put on leave this month for suspected wrongdoing has now been fired.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office announced Monday afternoon that Tim Stidam had been fired effective Friday, March 25. To that point, as WBIR reported Friday, he'd been on paid leave.
Sheriff's officials won't say exactly what Stidam may have done to merit first being put on leave and then abruptly terminated.
"There is an active internal and potential criminal investigation ongoing into his conduct while on duty. We will not make any additional statements or comments until the investigation(s) are closed and Attorney General Charme Allen has reviewed the file," a statement from the Sheriff's Office reads.
PREVIOUS STORY: A Knox County deputy is on paid leave while the Knox County Sheriff's Office conducts an internal review of his conduct.
Tim Stidam was put on administrative leave after the Office of Professional Standards learned of "an incident" involving him, according to KCSO spokeswoman Kimberly Glenn.
Glenn offered no specifics about what the incident entailed or why it would require Stidam to be put on leave. She said OPS learned last week of the incident.
It wasn't clear how long the internal review would take, after which it'll be forwarded to Sheriff Tom Spangler for his consideration.
Stidam, a California native, has been with KCSO since 2013. He had a brief prior stint in law enforcement in San Bernardino, Calif., his personnel file shows.
His file makes no reference to his administrative leave.
Stidam in past evaluations has received strong marks for loyalty and readiness to volunteer for special teams and extra duties. He's also been advised to improve his communication with co-workers and to watch that his comments to others don't reflect negatively on the department.
He's expressed interest in being a detective/sergeant, his file shows.