(Memphis) – The Memphis Police Officer accused of shooting a 15-year-old boy is back of the job.
“He’s off duty again for something else,” Memphis Police Director Tony Armstrong said.
But Armstrong is staying tight lip about why officer Terrance Shaw is back off duty.
Shaw was initially put on paid leave on September 24th, the same day he’s accused of shooting 15-year-old Justin Thompson.
Officer Shaw, who was off duty at the time, says he was being robbed.
But so far the TBI has not finished its investigation.
So Director Armstrong says he put Shaw back on the job in a non enforcement capacity on December 8th.
“He was assigned to our real time crime center where he was working basically watching cameras answering phones doing clerical we find it in these cases,’ he said.” We have tasks they can do and it’s a better utilization of tax payer dollars.”
But Memphis Mayor A. C. Wharton didn’t know Shaw was back at work and Wednesday he requested a detailed reason as to why. He got the answers in a memo obtained by News Channel 3.
“In the absence of findings by TBI of violations of the law there are no pending administrative charges against Officer Shaw. It is my understanding that this served at least in part for placing Officer Shaw in a non enforcement post. The alternative would have been to leave him off duty with pay.”
But why Shaw was put back off duty Friday with pay is a mystery.
“I can’t talk about why,” Armstrong said.
But Armstrong contends it has nothing to do with the mayor’s memo.
“It had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
We tried to get a response from the mayor, but he was unavailable for comment.