MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The head of training at the Memphis Fire Department is off the job after being accused of inappropriate behavior toward new recruits.
Eric Shane Howell, a Memphis Fire division chief, is said to have violated five personnel policies, including harassment.
Recruits who reached out to WREG Investigators were too scared to give interviews but provided unnerving details that lined up with what we found in his employment file.
A letter addressed to Howell described what happened on Dec. 8, when he reportedly instructed a male recruit to put duct tape over a female recruit’s mouth, telling another instructor, “this is how we teach them to shut up.”
Howell, at the time, was the chief of training.
Howell was also accused of making recruits carry two, five-gallon containers of chemicals weighing 54 pounds apiece for extended distances. The report claims he used vulgar, sexual statements when addressing recruits.
Howell had received written reprimands for using “profanity and bad language” in 2018, and again in September 2022.
Howell can file an appeal with the Civil Service Commission. We are working to find out if he has done so.
We reached out to the fire department for comment, and to Howell for his side. We will update this story if we hear back.
According to city salary records, Howell made $102,921.26 in his job as of last June.
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