Former officer fired after sex scandal sues the Department of Tennessee alleging “sexual grooming”

A former Tennessee police officer fired over revelations of casual sex between sworn, often on-duty officers has claimed in a federal lawsuit that she was “sexually groomed” at work.

Megan Hall, who admitted to investigators that she had sexual relations with four officers, two of whom were her superiors, filed a lawsuit on Monday in US District Court in Nashville.

It names the city of La Vergne, former police chief Burrel “Chip” Davis, and former Sgt. Lewis Powell and Henry “Ty” McGowan. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants deprived Hall of due process and violated federal law against sharing intimate images online and out of state.

La Verne Mayor Jason Cole opened an internal investigation in December after learning that Hall had “intimate relationships” with other department employees, according to an independent investigation commissioned by the city. According to an outside investigation by the law firm, she told her superiors about the meetings at the time.

The sexual activity was alleged to have included a houseboat hot tub party attended by at least three other officers and the exchange of nude photographs of Hall and other officers, according to an investigation whose findings were included in the lawsuit.

As the investigation established, some other meetings took place on the territory of the city.

Hall, Powell, McGowan and two other officers were fired at the end of December, and three others were suspended.

Davis was fired in early February after an outside investigation concluded he knew what was going on but failed to punish the officers, the city said in a statement at the time.

The lawsuit alleged that Davis attempted to have sex with Hall and discussed plans to have sex with her with one of her superiors via text messages.

“During her employment, Ms. Hall was trained to engage in sexual exploitation by men in the department, including Sgt. Powell, Sgt. McGowan and Chief Davis,” the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit alleged that Hall was set up and ultimately harmed by both the intimate interactions and her subsequent firing because her work environment was sexually charged.

“Since the beginning of her work, Ms. Hall has faced a work environment riddled with sexual innuendo and sexually explicit behavior,” the statement said.

The document lists a number of other alleged incidents that contributed to what he called a “sexually coercive environment”, which he said affected Hall’s mental health.

The lawsuit alleged that male colleagues discussed women’s attractiveness and exchanged stories about their intimate experiences, that an officer told Hall’s superior that he wanted to have sex with her, and that two officers exchanged photos of their genitals in her presence.

The boss, who was not named by the defendant, said he wanted to see all of Hall’s tattoos, including those covered by clothing, and asked to meet with her in her spare time, the lawsuit alleges.

Attempts to contact Davis, Powell and McGowan were unsuccessful.

Lawyer Wesley Clark, who filed the lawsuit on Hall’s behalf, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the police union, the Fraternal Police Order, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Earlier in February, the union said there would be no further announcements.

The lawsuit does not specify the damages claimed, but says it ultimately seeks loss of wages and medical expenses, as well as compensation for sharing nude photos of her and for emotional suffering, mental anguish, and “loss of enjoyment of life.”

After the boss was fired in February, Mayor Cole lamented the scandal.

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