Pubdate: Thu, 22 Nov 2001
Source: Chattanooga Times & Free Press (TN)
Website: http://www.timesfreepress.com/index.html
Address: P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37403
Contact:  2001 Chattanooga Publishing Co.
Author: Ron Clayton

2 FORMER CALHOUN OFFICERS INDICTED

CALHOUN, Tenn. -- A former Calhoun police chief and a former reserve police 
officer have been indicted by a McMinn County grand jury on charges of 
official misconduct.

That comes less than a week after an indictment from Grundy County was 
returned against current Police Chief Christopher Nicholson for alleged 
official misconduct in that county when he worked for the Palmer Police 
Department.

Now charged by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are Bobby Joe Petty 
Jr., 32, and John Joseph Trippett, 37, both of Calhoun. Mr. Trippett also 
is charged with one count of forgery.

Mr. Petty is a former Calhoun city police chief, who resigned after 
admitting earlier this year to city officials he used drug-fund money to 
try and cover bad checks written by his wife.

That began a TBI investigation which discovered an automatic pistol, owned 
by the city but issued to Mr. Trippett, was missing.

"I knew about the missing gun," said City Manager Joe Bryan. "Once it was 
assigned to our property, it was used as a backup gun."

The weapon was checked out to Mr. Trippett, who left the department last 
May and took a position with the McMinn County Sheriff's Department. He was 
an unpaid reserve officer while with Calhoun.

When asked by Calhoun officials to produce the weapon, Mr. Trippett did not 
respond and the TBI began to investigate. Authorities charged in the 
indictment that the weapon was sold by Mr. Trippett.

And, according to the indictments, the investigation led to allegations Mr. 
Trippett forged a letter of employment and other information. He was fired 
from the Sheriff's Department.

"Joe (Petty) and others have been very cooperative," said Mr. Bryan. "He 
said Mr. Petty's situation grew out of desperation."

Chief Nicholson was indicted last week for allegedly seeking money for the 
county drug fund from a motorist he had stopped while he was an officer in 
Palmer, Tenn. Mr. Bryan said the chief says he is innocent and will 
continue working on the force in Calhoun.

"Perhaps the best thing to look at is that we have been audited now for two 
years, and the only thing has been the missing gun," said Mr. Bryan.

A TBI official in Nashville, spokesperson Jean Broadwell, confirmed the 
indictments were issued for official misconduct and forgery, but declined 
to release further information. Attempts to contact the defendants for 
comment were unsuccessful.

Mr. Trippett is free on a $2,000 bond and Mr. Petty is free on his own 
recognizance. They are to appear for arraignment on Dec. 3 in McMinn County 
Criminal Court.
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