Fairview officers being fired in wake of investigation
Days after a long awaited investigation into the Fairview Police Department resulted in no criminal prosecution, the department issued notice it plans to fire three officers at the heart of the inquiry.
New Fairview Police Chief Scott Smith sent termination letters to Lt. Pat Stockdale, Lt. Shane Dunning and Assistant Chief Mark Sutton, said city recorder Brandy Johnson in an email Thursday morning. She said the department had no further comment on the matter.
According to "notices of intended dismissal" obtained by the Fairview Observer Thursday afternoon, the city cited two incidents where Sutton’s conduct with other police department employees violated city policies and procedures.
In a March 2015 meeting, Sutton used "vile, inappropriate and intolerable language,” the notice said. The incident took place in a training room where Sutton’s actions were recorded in audio and video.
On Feb. 2, the day after a department detective was arrested in Metro Nashville on charges related to prostitution, Sutton had a profanity-laced argument with Lt. Stockdale after Stockdale stated his intent to take his concerns to the city manager.
Dunning’s notice alleged an incident in February in which he cursed and threatened a confidential informant if the informant failed to set up three illegal drug transactions in a week against a certain individual.
Stockdale's notice accuses him of suspending Sgt. Ronnie Connor after Connor signed a statement admitting he falsified government documents when Stockdale should have known no such offense is in state law. Stockdale also did not advise Connor of his employee rights, the notice says.
Stockdale said Thursday the city's actions are retaliatory.
The notices of intended dismissal give each employee the right to request a pre-dismissal hearing. For now, each employee will remain on administrative leave with pay.
No charges follow Fairview Police Dept. Investigation
The three officers had remained on leave for months during the investigation by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. The inquiry pushed in several directions for more than four months, with allegations made against all three officers, but eventually recommended that no criminal acts had been committed. Accordingly, Williamson County District Attorney Kim Helper decided not to press charges against anyone.
Last week, Dunning and Stockdale filed a federal lawsuit saying they were deprived of due process throughout the investigation. They also made allegations of official oppression, defamation and slander.
The firings come months after the Fairview department faced scrutiny when one of its detectives was arrested on a prostitution solicitation charge on what was believed to have been his first day on the job. There were allegations of inappropriate conduct by former Police Chief Terry Harris in connection with officers working off-duty security positions, but the investigation focused almost entirely on interactions between officers within the department or during arrests.
Tennessean reporter Dave Boucher contributed to this report.