NC police officer says he was fired for ownership stake in distillery

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A now-former Raleigh police officer says he lost his job with the department because of his ownership stake in a distillery in Clayton.

Eric Tansey posted a video to the Facebook page for InStill Distilling Co. on Thursday saying he had been fired after eight years with the Raleigh Police Department.

“I was fired for simply owning a craft distillery,” Tansey said. “Three years ago, me and two of my friend ventured out to create, or to build, Clayton, North Carolina’s first legal distillery.”

Tansey said had been working on the distillery for three years and told the police department about it from the onset.

“About a week before the soft opening, I was pulled into an office and I was told to resign or be terminated. This came as a huge shock,” he said. “I did not see this coming at all. I asked what I was being terminated for and they said for owning a distillery.”

Tansey continued, saying the department launched an internal-affairs investigation.

“From that point forward, I was treated like a criminal for the next remaining months I was an officer,” he said.

CBS 17 has reached out to Raleigh police for comment but hasn’t heard back. The department’s officer handbook mentions “any employment involving the sale or handling of alcohol” under the section regarding specifically prohibited employment.