La Vergne settles lawsuit with former officer
LA VERGNE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The La Vergne city council held a special meeting Wednesday and approved a settlement agreement with former officer Maegan Hall, who filed a federal lawsuit against the city accusing her supervisors of grooming her.
Hall filed the lawsuit in February 2023 against the city, two former sergeants and the former chief of police. She and four other officers were fired in January 2023 for allegedly having sex on duty, sending nude photos of each other, not disclosing their relationships, and lying during an HR investigation.
Former Chief Chip Davis was fired a month later after a third-party investigation found he was aware of the sex scandal but failed to report it and may have encouraged the behavior. A third-party investigation later found Chief Davis was aware of the scandal.
Click here to read the settlement between Maegan Hall and the city of La Vergne.
Hall will be compensated $500,000 for “civil rights claims based on personal physical injuries.” The agreement is not an admission of liability and dismisses the lawsuit with prejudice.
The lawsuit against the city of La Vergne, Davis, former Sgt. Lewis Powell, and former Sgt. Henry “Ty” McGowan accused Hall’s supervisors of grooming her for sexual exploitation.
The lawsuit claimed Powell forced Hall into sex acts, sometimes by physically holding her down, then recorded those moments without her consent. The suit goes on to say images and videos of Hall were sent to the former chief without her knowledge or approval.
In addition, Hall’s attorneys wrote the City of La Vergne created a “false narrative” in its summary of the investigation into the sex scandal, which caused the former officer public humiliation on an international scale.
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Former officer Lewis Powell also filed a lawsuit against the city of La Vergne, Mayor Jason Cole, La Vergne HR Director Andrew Patton and former Police Chief Chip Davis.
Powell argued in his lawsuit he was given unfair treatment based on his race. He claims the other officers who were allowed to stay on the force are white. Powell claims in the lawsuit he casually dated a woman within the department for a short time and did not violate any city policy, and if he did, he was never disciplined for it.
Powell is asking for a jury trial, back and front pay, and $3 million in damages plus attorney fees.
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