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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

Fired Chattanooga police officer arrested for official misconduct

Karl Fields testifies during a hearing in Judge Don Poole's courtroom in Chattanooga.
Karl Fields testifies during a hearing in Judge Don Poole's courtroom in Chattanooga.

A former Chattanooga police detective who was fired in 2015 after he made sexual advances toward a woman while investigating her rape case is now facing criminal charges.

Karl Fields, 43, was booked today and charged with tampering with or fabricating evidence and official misconduct.

Between June and August 2014, a woman said Fields made sexual advances toward her while he investigated her rape and kidnapping case. The Times Free Press does not identify victims of sexual assault.

The woman and Fields and exchanged hundreds of text messages that summer, which were later provided to the Times Free Press.

The Chattanooga Police Department launched an internal investigation after the woman handed them over, and District Attorney General Neal Pinkston also asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the accusations.