POST investigator says Claiborne County submitted fabricated firearms rosters; commission requires remedial actions

The Tennessee POST Commission on April 17 reviewed an investigator's report concluding Claiborne County submitted inaccurate firearms rosters and altered electronic records when audited, and it directed the county to correct records and face informal follow-up.

Post investigator Kevin Creed told commissioners an unannounced visit and subsequent records review found the county's firearms rosters and lesson plan were either missing or created after requests from POST staff. Creed said the electronic roster produced appeared to have been created or modified the morning it was submitted, and later the county's firearms instructors produced handwritten rosters that documented the actual qualification events and scores.

"He lied to me about having the records ... he produced submitted the post fraudulent documents," Creed reported. The investigator said the training roster contained fabricated scores and dates that did not match instructors' handwritten rosters.

Claiborne County representatives acknowledged the problem, said the staff member previously responsible for training records had resigned, and described steps to correct the records. Chief Deputy and deputy representatives said the county has since appointed new training staff, sent personnel to the GDI (General Departmental Instructor)…