Newbern Police Officer Reinstated
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NEWBERN, Tenn- A Newbern police officer is back to work after he was fired by a former police chief, who accused him of falsifying records. In March, Lucas Hamilton was terminated by former Police Chief, Harold Dunivant, after accusing the patrolman of lying on his time sheets. Soon after, Hamilton filed an appeal saying it was retaliation because he had reported the former police chief to the town mayor, alleging he was illegally fixing tickets. On Tuesday, at a mayor and board of alderman meeting, leaders voted to give Hamilton his job back on the Newbern police force. “The city’s attorney presented evidence, submitted and listened to new evidence and made the decision to reinstate Mr. Hamilton,” said Jim Richards, who took over as police chief after Dunivant resigned in March. Some residents said while theywere happy Hamilton was reinstated, they were concerned about politics in the department. “Politics is politics and safety is safety. Safety should always come over politics,” said Newbern resident, Sadie Powell. Chief Richards said they were making changes, both administrative and procedural, to continue improving the department.
