NewsChannel 5 Investigates has discovered discrepancies in timesheets that appear to show Millersville assistant police chief Glenn Alred may have been working illegally.
You may remember Alred resigned earlier this week after investigators from the Tennessee POST Commission launched an investigation into claims that he was working full-time without being a certified cop.
However, Alred’s letter of resignation said he stepped down because of the “ongoing and relentless harassment through false allegations directed at myself, the Chief of Police, the city manager, and our officers.”
Only NewsChannel 5 was there last Friday when investigators told the POST commission they had received multiple complaints suggesting Alred was working more than 20 hours per week.
State law prohibits part-time officers from working more than 20 hours per week or 100 hours a month without being certified.
Investigators were sent back to Millersville, but this time to pull timesheets and compare them with calls for service. So that is what we did as well.
Millersville City Manager Scott Avery gave NewsChannel 5 Investigates Alred’s timesheets between April and July, which appeared to show Alred worked no more than 20 hours every week.
But when we compared his timesheet and dispatch logs we obtained from Sumner County from the same period of time, we discovered multiple discrepancies.
Alred said he worked from 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., but dispatch shows he responded to a call just after 1 a.m. that morning.
Alred also responded to four more calls before 3:30 a.m.
According to his timesheet, Alred said he worked on June 30 and not again until July 6, but once again dispatch calls showed that wasn’t the case.
Records show Alred responded to calls on July 1, 2, and 3.
We counted nine calls on July 4 and another three on July 5.
NewsChannel5 Investigates sent these findings to Millersville City Manager Scott Avery and asked why he believed Alred chose not to log these hours.
“If he showed up to a call late at night, he should adjust his timecard, but I don’t get those calls. So, I guess I was unaware of that,” said Avery.
The records from dispatch only show when Alred showed up to a scene, but it doesn’t show what he was doing in between calls. This means he could have been on patrol the entire time, just not on the clock.
We asked Avery: “Is this happening across the board? How often is this happening where you have an officer who is putting in more hours than they’re telling you about?”
“It shouldn’t be happening at all,” Avery replied.
We then asked if Alred would still have a job if Avery knew about the discrepancies in timesheets.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. So, the question becomes, is he stopping at something? Or you’re saying it looks like he’s working a full shift. I don’t know what he’s doing,” Avery replied.
Chief Melvin Brown and Alred turned in their notice the same day we received the dispatch logs, but Avery insists it has nothing to do with our findings.
Avery said he plans to be more diligent about timesheets and won’t shy away from punishments if necessary.
“If this data is out there, I will look at it, and I have disciplined people for having their timecard wrong, and I will in the future too,” Avery said.
He said his biggest concern at the moment is why POST Commissioners haven’t reached out themselves about any new investigation.
He says he hasn’t seen any POST investigators since last week's meeting when they were told to come back to Millersville and get more documents.
“I’ve gotten zero cooperation and zero communications from the POST Commission. Zero,” Avery said.
Avery goes on to say he needs clarity because emails seem to show the POST Commission believed the department was in compliance back in February.
While he waits to hear from investigators, Avery said the message is the same to the POST Commission and all others who suspect wrongdoing with his department.
“I don’t understand how people are OK with baseless accusations. You came up with evidence. Why can’t they come up with evidence? Everything you shared with me now is public record, so if they say there’s a problem, put the documentation together and bring it forward,” Avery said.
Avery told NewsChannel 5 Investigates late Friday afternoon that POST investigators have now reached out to say they plan to visit Millersville Monday morning.
Sumner County District Attorney Ray Whitley initially refused to investigate, but now says he will review the POST Commission findings when they are complete.
“I want to look at all available information before being able to answer your questions,” Whitley said.
