KNOXVILLE — Authorities arrested retired Knoxville police investigator Don Wiser on three counts of fabricating evidence and falsifying documents in connection with a driving school he operated in Halls.
Wiser was booked at 9:35 p.m. Wednesday into the Knox County Sheriff's Detention Facility, according to Knox County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Hillary Coward. He was released at 1:32 a.m. today after posting a $1,000 bond.
Wiser was indicted by a grand jury under the law regarding tampering and fabricating evidence. The law is a class C felony that carries punishment of 3-6 years imprisonment upon conviction. He faces one count of that charge.
The indictment also alleges Wiser falsified documents of an institute of education twice between March 17 and April 14. Those charges are misdemeanors.
"I haven't broke no laws," Wiser said this morning.
"I'm out here fighting the war on drugs and they're (Sheriff's Office) fighting me."
Officers with the Sheriff's Office on April 14 raided Wiser's business. They were armed with a search warrant that alleged undercover officers had documented Wiser doling out class certificates for cash without the prerequisite course work.
His business, Concepts in Safety located in the Birchtree Plaza on Afton Drive in Halls, is certified by the state Department of Mental Health to offer drug-awareness and drivers' safety classes. People convicted of offenses in court are ordered to attend such classes as part of their punishment.
On April 14, an undercover deputy wearing a recording device got a class certificate in less than two hours after walking in the door at Concepts in Safety, according to court records. On March 17, a borrowed Blount County undercover deputy obtained a 16-hour course certificate for the price of a 12-hour certificate after attending a few hours of Wiser's training, the search warrant stated.
Wiser said he recalls having allergy problems during one of those undercover visits and he probably did shorten class training on that occasion. But he said the state Department of Mental Health then should be the agency to rebuke him, not a criminal probe.
Records show no one had complained to the state Department of Mental Health about Wiser's business practices.
Wiser alleged in a May interview with the News Sentinel that he had been targeted by Knox County Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones because he offers classes in competition with the Sheriff's Office courses and he has expressed a desire to run for sheriff in 2014.
During the raid, officers seized computers, records, checks and cash, records show.
Wiser, 65, retired in 1991 from the Knoxville Police with a bad back after 23 years of service. He was an investigator for 15 years handling violent crimes against people