KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A former Knoxville Police Department lieutenant who was fired in July 2022 may soon return to the force after a decision to fire him was ruled not justified.
Lance Earlywine was fired by Chief Paul Noel after an Internal Affairs investigation found that he was "untruthful" in sworn statements during a previous investigation. The first investigation was conducted in 2020 and centered around allegations of racism in the department's Violence Reduction Team.
A KPD officer who resigned in February 2020 complained about a hostile work environment and racism he experienced during his exit interview. In that investigation, an officer said he approached Earlywine about "every hostile interaction" he had with another officer.
However, Earlywine said nobody came and complained to him about that officer. The second Internal Affairs investigation found Earlywine violated the department's Truthfulness policy. So, he was fired by Noel.
Earlywine later appealed his termination and asked the Civil Service Merit Board to review the disciplinary actions.
Noel released a statement about the ruling on Tuesday. That statement is below.
“The incident at the center of this appeal dates back to 2020 and had been dragging on for well over two years without any resolution by the time I was appointed as Chief of Police. The internal investigation was also conducted and completed before my tenure as Chief, and I had to make a decision based solely on the findings of that investigation. I stand by my decision and the reasoning that guided my decision. We will move forward, and this will not deter our efforts to continue to improve our department.”
KPD also said that it received the ruling on Monday, and Earlywine had not yet returned to the force. It also said a decision had not yet been made regarding his assignment.