A former Tennessee police officer involved in the shocking sex scandal that rocked the La Vergne Police Department has sued the city for racial prejudice.
Last week, former La Vergne Sgt. Lewis Powell filed a lawsuit against the city of La Vergne; La Vergne Mayor Jason Cole; the city’s Human Resources director, Andrew Patton; and former Police Chief Chip Davis, according to court records.
As Blaze News previously reported in January, Powell was one of five La Vergne Police Department officers fired after an investigation into allegations of sexual escapades between the officers.
The department’s police chief, Burrel “Chip” Davis, was also terminated after investigators determined that he “was aware of the sexual misconduct within his department and never reported or disciplined any of the officers involved.”
The sexual misconduct accusations of the sex scandal also resulted in three other officers being suspended following the December 2022 investigation.
La Vergne Police Department officer Maegan Hall was fired after the internal probe allegedly discovered that she had sexual relationships with six of her coworkers — including a threesome with the wife of one of the cops.
The report claimed that Hall performed oral sex on two officers at the police station and in the department’s gym while the officers were on duty.
Patrol Officer Patrick Magliocco told Director of Human Resources Andrew Patton that Hall had told him about Powell’s “big black d***,” according to the report.
The officers were accused of exchanging explicit photos and videos.
Hall defended herself by saying, “My supervisors worked together to take advantage of my vulnerabilities and mental health, and they used it for their gain and their sexual pleasure.”
Hall claimed Powell threatened to kill himself when she tried to break up with him, “leaving Hall struggling to cope with her own anxiety, depression, and collapsing mental health,” according to the Daily Mail.
Powell alleged in a previous filing, “Consequently, in approximately May 2022, Powell began trying to break things off amicably with Hall, saying that he loved his wife. Nonetheless, Hall persisted in trying to entrap him back into a relationship. Hall (who is white) appeared to have some sort of fetish for Powell (who is black) based on his race.”
“Initially, she began by talking about sex. She complained to Powell that her own marital sex life was unsatisfying,” Powell’s filing says. “After Powell responded with an idea or two about how she might spice things up with her husband, Hall asked if Powell could demonstrate. That way, she said that she would know how to please her husband.”
Powell claimed that when he rejected her sexual advances, she lashed back by saying that he “must be a homosexual” if he didn’t desire her.
In Powell’s lawsuit filed last week, the former La Vergne Police Department officer claims that he was terminated partly because of his race.
“They terminated and defamed all the officers involved — except for those who were white and male — based at least partly on racial prejudice,” the lawsuit states.
Powell argues in the lawsuit that he had a casual relationship with a female colleague for a short amount of time but stresses that he did not violate any department rules. He also notes that he was never reprimanded or disciplined by his superiors for his actions.
Powell claims that Chief Davis instructed him to “deny that anything had even occurred at all” between himself and Hall. Powell alleges that he falsely denied a relationship with Hall because he took the advice of Davis.
The lawsuit alleges Mayor Cole and the department became “aroused with righteous indignation that his officers had committed fornication under his watch” following the discovery of the scandal, and “Mayor Cole and Director Patton determined to get to the bottom of the situation and uncover every juicy detail.”
Powell is asking for a jury trial, back and front pay, $3 million in damages, plus attorney fees.
Hall launched a lawsuit against the city in March.
The lawsuit argues, “Where Ms. Hall sought role models at her new job, she instead found predators. In place of offering professional development, her supervisors and the chief of police groomed her for sexual exploitation.”
“Maegan Hall felt trapped in the role assigned to her at the City of La Vergne Police Department and, in an attempt to escape, she nearly killed herself,” the lawsuit notes. “Then, the City blamed her for everything. This lawsuit seeks justice for Maegan Hall.”
Former La Vergne Police Chief addresses sex scandalwww.youtube.com
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