MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -
A Murfreesboro police detective is accused of selling fake products to her own colleagues.
Detective Sgt. Amy Dean is suspected of soliciting other Murfreesboro police employees to buy items like Ugg boots and North Face jackets she knew were counterfeit.
In police dispatch recordings from November, Det. Dean is heard taking to another employee about a pair of black Ugg boots.
On the recording, the dispatcher says, "Sherry told me you have some Ugg boots for sale" and Dean responds, "I do."
After agreeing to pay $70, the dispatcher speaks to Dean again.
"The tag is coming off the back of them," she says about the boots.
"Okay," Dean responds, "So you don't want the boots?"
"No," says the dispatcher, adding, "Not with the tag falling off of them, I mean, I don't know how long they'll be on there."
The boots in question resemble real Ugg boots but are obviously counterfeit when examined closer.
The label is stuck on with adhesive, the lining is not made out of real sheepskin and the soles of the boot aren't the same as genuine Ugg boots, among other differences.
Following her conversation with Dean, the dispatcher told an internal affairs investigator with the Murfreesboro Police Department about her suspicions.
In a recording of the interview, the investigator asks, "Did you assume you were buying…?"
"A real pair?" the dispatcher interjects, adding, "Yeah."
Investigators confronted Dean and asked if the boots were real.
She responded she didn't know but quickly said no when asked if she represented them otherwise.
Throughout the interview, police said Dean denied knowing the merchandise was not real, saying she received it from someone in Knoxville.
"I think it's safe to say her supervisor in the department expected more from her," Kyle Evans, spokesperson for the Murfreesboro Police Department, told Nashville's News 2.
He continued, "Law enforcement officials, especially this time of year, are warning consumers to watch out for counterfeit things and fraudulent items. The last place you expect to see these show up is a police department and certainly not being sold by a supervisor."
Internal affairs recommended Dean be demoted to patrol officer and removed from the criminal investigators division.
Dean is still working as a detective until her appeal, which will be heard by Murfreesboro Police Chief Glenn Chrisman on January 9.
The Murfreesboro city manager must also sign off on any disciplinary action.
The Rutherford County district attorney has decided not to file criminal charges.
When asked for an interview, Dean told Nashville's News 2 she did not wish to comment on the investigation.
