Fired Tennessee officer Maegan Hall claims ‘grooming,’ sexual harassment prompted sex scandal in new lawsuit
Maegan Hall, a fired Tennessee officer at the center of a sex scandal that rocked the police department, alleged in a new federal lawsuit that she was subjected to “sexual grooming” at work.
Hall in January was fired alongside four other officers — two of whom were her superiors — after an investigation revealed they’d been engaging in sexual trysts while on duty and on city property. She previously blamed her raunchy behavior on her troubled marriage, but in a new lawsuit she also faulted the all-male ranks of the La Vergne Police Department for cultivating a culture of exploitation and sexual harassment.
The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Tennessee, names the city of La Vergne and Police Chief Burrel “Chip” Davis as defendants. It also takes aim at fired Sgts. Lewis Powell and Henry “Ty” McGowan, who allegedly “groomed” Hall to “engage in sexually exploitative activities.”
Davis was fired in early February after an external investigation concluded he was aware of the trysts but failed to intervene. Hall said he was also among the men who attempted to have sex with her.
“Where Ms. Hall sought role models at her new job, she instead found predators,” the suit reads.
“In place of offering professional development, her supervisors and the Chief of Police groomed her for sexual exploitation,” it continues. “They colluded in using their authority to systematically disarm her resistance and entrap her in degrading and abusive sexual relationships, even sharing tips on the best ways to manipulate and exploit her.”
Hall further alleged she was robbed of due process when she was terminated.
La Vergne Mayor Jason Cole launched an internal probe in December after he learned Hall had engaged in several “intimate relationships” with other members of the department, according to an outside investigation commissioned by the city. The illicit behavior uncovered was alleged to have included a booze-fueled hot tub party on a houseboat attended by at least three other officers as well as the exchange of nude photos.
“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,” according to the lawsuit. “Then, the City blamed her for everything.”
