LAFOLLETTE, Tenn. — The LaFollette City Council voted Tuesday to fire two city police officers after investigating an internal harassment complaint.
The city council hired an outside investigative firm after a sergeant with the LaFollette Police Department filed a harassment complaint. The council said it received the findings from the investigation before the meeting Tuesday, but did not go over the specific details of the complaint or the investigation.
However, the report recommended disciplining the officers.
Councilmember Stephanie Solomon called for a vote to fire two officers involved in the complaint -- Lt. Brian Tiller and Sgt. Monty Miller -- based on the results of the investigation. The council voted 3-1 to fire the two officers immediately, with councilmember Mark Hoskins voting against the motion.
The Volunteer Times streamed the meeting live Tuesday evening.
Before voting to fire the officers, the council also approved several new city hires -- including its next police chief.
Councilmembers voted unanimously to promote Captain Steve Wallen to lead the police department. Wallen will be paid a $53,500 salary and will start his new contract on August 13.
Wallen was recently placed on administrative leave in June as state authorities investigated misconduct allegations made by another employee. The allegations claimed he fixed a ticket for someone he had "known from childhood" before it could be processed through the court system. His suspension was lifted a few weeks later after the state concluded he did not commit a criminal act.
District Attorney General Jared Effler said on June 27 that he chose not to prosecute the case because Wallen said he was acting in good faith under direction from the city judge to keep "uneccessary citations from making their way to court."