A Tennessee police department sparked an uproar on Tuesday after it was accused of at least five male officers having sex with a female officer on and off duty.
So far, five officers have been fired and three others have been suspended without pay, Mayor Jason Cole said, while police in the Nashville suburb of La Vergne are investigating allegations against a 60-person police department.
“This situation was unacceptable and we investigated it as soon as it came to our attention and took action against those involved,” Kerr said in a statement. “Our number one priority is to restore public confidence.”
The La Vergne police report was included in an internal report on the department’s investigation obtained by NBC affiliate WSMV, based in Nashville. The officers spoke of sharing cellphone photos of their genitalia, having sex at the on-duty police station and attending “Girls Gone Wild” type parties.
“The actions of a few individuals do not represent the department as a whole,” Police Chief Burrel “Chip” Davis said.
Despite layoffs and suspensions, we are “fully staffed to do all of our patrol shifts,” Davis said. He said consultants were brought in “to help our officers deal with these situations”.
City officials say the female officer at the center of the scandal, Maegan Hall, has been fired. Also fired were Sergeant Lewis Powell, Sergeant Henry Ty McGowan, Detective Seneca Shields and Sergeant Juan Lugo-Perez.
NBC News tried to contact all the officials who were fired or suspended but received no response. As well as violating departmental regulations regarding on-duty sexual conduct, they were also accused of obstructing the investigation by lying about their actions, which they “conducted improperly,” according to the investigation report.
City spokeswoman Anne Smith said no one has been charged with a crime. The Rutherford County Attorney’s Office told Nashville-based WTVF-TV that they are monitoring the situation.
Earlier, Sergeant Eric Staats, president of the police fraternity chapter of the department, told the news outlet that none of the officers would make a statement.
The state owns the houseboat, which hosted a wild “hot tub” party on Memorial Day last year, where officials got so drunk that Hall once lost her top, according to the investigative report. And poured vodka down her throat. The state has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
City officials opened an investigation on Dec. 12 after a sheriff informed Cole Hall of an “intimate relationship” with a colleague, according to a WSMV report detailing what allegedly happened.
When questioned, Powell, Maglioko, Holloday, Shields and Lugo Perez all admitted to having a sexual relationship with Hall, the report said.