RIPLEY, TN (abc24.com) - With his legacy under attack, former Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin fought back during a quick stop in the Mid-South.
Godwin was in Ripley Thursday afternoon for a news conference announcing the indictment of 21 people on federal drug charges.
"It has been fun, it has been a fun year so far," said Godwin.
Godwin resigned as the Bluff City's top cop last April to take a job as Deputy Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
Godwin left a reputation for being tough on crime, and getting results. He launched Blue Crush and opened the Real Time Crime Center.
But in late-January, cracks started to surface.
An audit of MPD's Organized Crime Unit found issues with overtime pay, record-keeping, and the spending of drug money.
"We passed the audits and the audit, really, they never found anything. If you read the last page it simply states that they're going to make some changes," said Godwin.
Then a few days later, current Director Toney Armstrong revealed thousands of crimes may not have been included in crime states because they were listed as memos and never reviewed or upgraded to full-time reports.
"There is a responsibility of the supervisors in the bureaus to determine if a memo should be changed to a report," Godwin said.
"They never reach the 12th floor," said Godwin, referring to where his office was located within the Criminal Justice Center at 201 Poplar.
Then there was the revelation that Nick Clark, a real estate businessman, was helping fund undercover operations.
"All those things were done above aboard, done legally, and in the right way," Godwin says. "I think Nick Clark is a heck of a man."
Godwin says he doesn't take any of this personally.
"I try not to take things personal, and I just move on, I think I'm a little bigger then that."
