Chattanooga police officer Karl Fields was investigated for insubordination four months before a woman whose rape case he worked accused him of making inappropriate sexual advances while on the job.
One of Fields' supervising sergeants asked Internal Affairs to open a policy and procedure infraction investigation into Fields after the officer sent an email questioning the unit's scheduling to both his bosses and the rest of the unit on May 19, 2014.
Investigations into officer Fields
* 2004: Internal affairs: Officer-involved shooting. Finding: Justified. Discipline: None. * 2006: Internal affairs: Conduct unbecoming a law enforcement officer. Finding: Sustained. Discipline: 14-day unpaid suspension. * 2013: Internal affairs: Citizen complaint. Finding: Unfounded. Discipline: None. * May 2014: Internal affairs: Insubordination. Finding: Not sustained. Discipline: None. * September 2014: TBI opens an investigation into the claims that Fields had an inappropriate relationship with a woman while investigating her rape case. Finding: Still pending. This is an active investigation. Source: Chattanooga Police Department Internal Affairs, TBI
In the short, four-sentence email, Fields says he is "confused" by the unit's new schedule and questioned how officers' days off were assigned. Both of the sergeants and a lieutenant who supervised Fields felt the email was disrespectful and insubordinate, according to the internal affairs investigation.
Sgt. Michael Wenger said Fields had complained about the schedule before and that the email should not have been sent to the whole unit.
"It is my belief that Investigator Fields' intention was to undermine the authority of his chain of command diminish our ability to supervise the unit," Wenger wrote in a statement to internal affairs.
But Fields said he just wanted answers about his days off, and he did not intend to be disrespectful.
"That was not my motive," he said. "My motivation, again, was to make sure my days [off] were covered. How [Wenger] or Sgt. Shaw or Lt. Whitfield supervise is how they supervise. I've got no control over that. I was just asking the question, with no malicious intent, no disrespect intended. And again, the reason I involved the whole unit is because the whole unit is affected by the schedule."
The investigator concluded that there was not enough evidence to prove that Fields was insubordinate, and the investigation ended in late December with a "not sustained" disposition. Fields was not disciplined.
The incident is the fourth time internal affairs has investigated Fields' conduct since 2004.
The homicide investigator was placed on administrative leave and is currently under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after a woman claimed in September that he sexually harassed her while he worked her rape case.
Hundreds of text messages provided to the Times Free Press show that she and Fields exchanged text messages between June and August.
Those allegations initially triggered a police internal affairs investigation, but police handed the investigation over to TBI to avoid the appearance of impropriety or conflicts of interest, Chief Fred Fletcher said at the time.
Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.