Former Chattanooga police chief indicted for forgery, perjury and more

| Updated June 27, 2024 at 9:00 p.m.

Chattanooga's former police chief turned herself in at the Hamilton County Jail on Thursday to face criminal charges including perjury, official misconduct, illegal voter registration and falsely filling out official documents.

A grand jury on Tuesday returned a 17-count indictment for Celeste Murphy, 56, that includes 14 felony and three misdemeanor charges. She resigned Wednesday, and the sealed document became public after she surrendered to authorities on Thursday.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported in March that Murphy's Tennessee voter registration conflicted with a property tax exemption Murphy receives in Fulton County, Georgia, by claiming a home there as her primary residence. Both documents were signed under penalty of perjury.

Murphy has been under investigation by the TBI since April. The agency said it was looking into allegations of official misconduct. Many of the charges that became public Thursday center on voter registration and other documents involved.

Charges against Murphy:

--- Illegal voter registration

--- False entries on official registration or election documents

--- 3 counts, false entries in governmental records

--- 3 counts, forgery

--- 3 counts, perjury

--- 6 counts, official misconduct

"During the investigation, agents determined Murphy knowingly entered false information on several government documents related to establishing residency in Chattanooga, though swearing to their truth in signing the documents," the TBI said in a news release.

Official documents mentioned in the charges are her voter registration form, driver's license application and a residency affidavit from the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, according to the indictment.

Murphy also faces official misconduct charges because she allegedly falsified the documents while employed as a public servant, the indictment says.

(READ MORE: Chattanooga chief never lived at house where she registered, sergeant says)

Murphy was appointed chief in 2022 by Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. She had been a top officer at the Atlanta Police Department and became Chattanooga's first female police chief.

Murphy was released on a $19,000 aggregate bond, TBI said. She is set to appear in Hamilton County Criminal Court on July 12 in front of Judge Boyd Patterson. An attorney named on Murphy's resignation letter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Murphy had told police department staffers by email that the TBI investigation centered on her residency. Chattanooga's charter, as well as Murphy's contract, required her to live in Tennessee.

Document

Celeste Murphy indictment

Kelly said he accepted Murphy's resignation Wednesday, and a search committee will start looking at candidates for her replacement.

Murphy's resignation letter states that she will receive three months of severance pay on her $177,700 salary, which comes out to around $44,400. She opted out of the city's fire and police pension fund, according to her contract.…

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2024/jun/27/former-chattanooga-police-chief-indicted-for/#/questions