Former Erwin Police Chief and Captain decertified by POST

Erwin’s former police chief, Regan Tilson and former Captain Wayne Edwards both were decertified Thursday by the state agency that regulates law enforcement officers. The Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission voted to uphold the decertification recommendations for both after they didn’t appear to contest those recommendations at an informal hearing. Decertification severely limits the type of work a person employed by a law enforcement agency can do. The actions come following September 2025 confirmation from the Town of Erwin that they had discovered Tilson submitted an in-service training roster to POST earlier that year, though no training had occurred. Officers received stipends for the claimed training, and were told they didn’t need to complete the training because of the effects of Hurricane Helene.