The Chattanooga police investigation found Shawn Hickey had counseled at least six Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute patients who had been criminally charged by the department, creating a conflict of interest, the Chattanooga Times Free Press  reports, citing an internal affairs report. In January, the 23-year department veteran was spotted arriving late to mandatory in-service trainings and leaving early. He was placed on administrative leave in August pending the internal investigation. When asked about his training attendance, Hickey told investigators that he did leave at least one class early, but he didn’t remember why. He also acknowledged having a second job at the mental health institute where he worked “almost every day except for the weekend.” He was pretty sure he took time off from that job for the training though, he told investigators. Hickey’s captain and assistant chief knew about Hickey’s other job, but were told that it was only part time and wouldn’t interfere with his police responsibilities. The investigation found Hickey was actually working as a full-time social worker, clocking more than 37 hours at the institute during the week of police training. Hickey was fired from the mental health institute this summer after an internal investigation by the state Department of Mental Health found a previously undisclosed conflict of interest with Hickey’s role at the police department. The state alerted the police department to the six cases in which Hickey counseled patients criminally charged by the department. It said he also didn’t disclose his role with the department to those patients. A review of the GPS records for Hickey’s department-issued vehicle found that he would park the vehicle overnight at locations that weren’t his home address. He told investigators that he had been staying with his girlfriend, according to the report, which says he described the relationship as “great friends who travel together” and was trying to hide it from his wife. During a subsequent interview, Hickey told investigators, “OK, you caught me,” according to the report. He was fired last month and declined to comment when contacted by the newspaper on Tuesday.
Tennessee officer fired after working 2nd job while on duty.