MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A former lieutenant with the Memphis Police Department could get an official misconduct charge expunged from his record.
Attorneys for Eric Kelly filed an order for expungement Wednesday as his diversion ended following a guilty plea in 2021.
Kelly, 50, pleaded guilty last year to one count of official misconduct and was placed on judicial diversion for one year, according to the Shelby County District Attorney's Office.
Kelly retired from the department at the rank of lieutenant in Nov. 2019, months after MPD supervisors filed charges accusing him of compromising a criminal case. According to the D.A., Kelly engaged in a sexual relationship with a female co-defendant in a case and used city funds to take her on an ‘investigative trip’ out of town. That violates MPD policy and Tennessee laws, said the D.A.
Former Shelby County D.A. Amy Weirich said at the time a senior prosecutor reviewed every closed case Kelly worked – 169 of them - and found “nothing questionable or concerning about the strength of the cases or the validity of the convictions.”
By resigning, Kelly avoided disciplinary action by the department.
Kelly was with the Memphis Police Department for 26 years before retiring.
