(This story has been updated to reflect that Bill Randolph has been suspended as Monterey’s Police Chief and Officer Chris Clayburn is now the interim Police Chief)
The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office reports their investigation has resulted in the indictment of Bill Randolph, the police chief for the Town of Monterey in Putnam County, for misappropriating at least $2,387 and improperly receiving 36 hours of training credit in 2022.
The Comptroller’s Office says instead of attending the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Officer’s Association (TLETOA) 2022 Fall Conference in Gatlinburg, Randolph and his wife visited restaurants and went shopping during conference hours.
In addition to his $400 conference registration fee, the Town of Monterey also paid for Randolph’s $25 law enforcement training membership, $1,200 in wages, more than $430 for overnight accommodations, almost $55 for fuel reimbursement, and per diem of $275 associated with attending this conference.
During the conference, another Monterey police officer shared QR codes with Randolph which allowed him to improperly log his attendance in training classes.
On November 4, 2024, the Putnam County Grand Jury indicted Bill Randolph on one count of theft of property over $1,000, three counts of official misconduct, one count of forgery over $1,000, one count of false entries in governmental records, and one count of violation of the Tennessee Personal and Commercial Computer Act of 2003.
In a press release, Monterey Mayor Alex Garcia said Mr. Randolph has been suspended without pay pending review by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The Board will conduct a review of the suspension during their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, November 11th.
Officer Chris Clayburn has been appointed Monterey’s interim Police chief at this time.