A Fort Worth police officer has been fired after he was accused of dishonesty while working an off-duty security job, the department announced Monday.

The department terminated Officer Eddie Tellez on Friday following an administrative investigation.

On July 11, the FWPD Internal Affairs Unit received a complaint against Tellez regarding an allegation of untruthfulness while he was working at the off-duty security job, the department said in a news release.

“The investigation revealed that Officer Tellez submitted an invoice for the job documenting he worked almost five hours,” the release said. “Security camera footage showed that the actual time Officer Tellez worked was approximately 20 minutes. When the employer disputed the hours listed on the invoice, Officer Tellez continued to be dishonest and told the off-duty job coordinator that he worked approximately four hours, but left early due to a family emergency.”

During the department’s investigation, Tellez “admitted to being dishonest, leaving the job after working approximately 20 minutes, and that he did not have a family emergency that caused him to leave early,” the release said.

After a thorough review of the administrative investigation, Police Chief Neil Noakes said he determined that Tellez violated multiple department policies and terminated his employment.

Tellez had worked for the Fort Worth Police Department for five years and was assigned to the Patrol Bureau.

“The Fort Worth Police Department holds its officers to a high standard both on and off-duty, and does not tolerate criminal misconduct or unethical behavior,” the release said. “Our department will continue to hold accountable those who do not meet that standard and in doing so, will continue to be transparent and open with our community.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 10:15 AM.