The disgraced former chief who was at the helm during last year’s steamy sex scandal at a Tennessee police department won’t be wearing a badge again any time soon.
Onetime top cop Burrel Davis, who was in charge of the La Vergne Police Department when ex-cop Maegan Hall’s saucy trysts with six other officers made national headlines, was unanimously “decertified” last week by the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission, WTVF-TV News reported.
That means Davis will not be allowed to wear a badge in the Volunteer State ever again — and might have trouble finding a police gig elsewhere with that ruling hanging over his head, the outlet said.
“You’re a police officer 24/7 and you’re a chief 24/7,” one of the commissioners said of the decision. “I think your conduct was very unbecoming.”
According to an internal investigation, Hall, who was married, had an ongoing affair with one of the department’s sergeants and was tied to trysts with other cops, including a threesome with one officer and his wife and a romp during a “Girls Gone Wild” themed hot tub party.
Davis was not accused of having sex with Hall, but acknowledged that he was sent racy photos of Hall by at least one sergeant under his command and joked about the stationhouse sexcapades.
“She has a tight little a– though,” former Sgt. Ty McGowan allegedly messaged the chief after sending him a photo of Hall, according to the investigation.
“Yup,” Davis responded.
The scandal cost the cops their jobs, including Davis and Hall, who later filed a lawsuit claiming she was “sexually groomed” by a cadre of male officers — and settled with the city for $500,000 earlier this year.
Davis also sued for racial discrimination but the complaint was denied because he said it was filed after the deadline for doing so, the WTVF report said.
“I didn’t sexually harass anybody for receiving a picture,” the outlet said he told the commission. “If you go back and look at the other transcripts, they will tell you that [Hall] was sending pictures to him and other people saying if you want a booty call, hit her up.”
Davis also defended his message exchange with McGowan, who he’d known for 16 years.
“These are text messages between two friends that were not on city phones,” he said. “So, did I let my hair down and have trust in a friend? Yes. Did they use it against me? Yes. Am I going to be responsible and accountable for my text messages? Yes.
“Was it a reflection of my job? No, because I did my job.”
