‘Who do you turn to when the chief of police is sexually harassing you?’
A police officer in the US who engaged in sexual acts with six colleagues has broken her silence on the scandal, claiming her bosses “took advantage of her vulnerabilities” and used it for “sexual pleasure.”
Maegan Hall made headlines earlier this year when she was named at the centre of an investigation at La Vergne Police Department, Tennessee, that led to five officers being let go, including Hall.
The group were accused of having sex on duty, sending explicit images to one another and having wild parties together.
The investigation found that Hall, 26, was intimately involved with four other officers – Sergeant Lewis Powell, Sergeant Henry Ty McGowan, Detective Seneca Shields and Officer Juan Lugo-Perez.
All were subsequently fired, but Hall was the only female police officer fired in connection to the scandal.
Hall has now spoken about how she has become the target for sexualised jokes and taunting since the story broke.
Speaking to News Channel 5 Nashville, she said: “I received harassing and threatening messages on my phone daily. I felt like I had been terrorized.”
Hall has now filed a lawsuit against La Vergne Police Department, and claims she was “groomed for sexual exploitation” during her time there.
In the lawsuit, Hall admitted to engaging in sexual acts with Powell, Magliocco, Holladay, Shields and Lugo-Perez, with the addition of officer McGowan too.
Filed on Monday (February 27), the lawsuit alleges that Hall was a victim of sexual harassment, naming the city of La Vergne, Powell, McGowan and Davis as defendants. It also outlines that such harassment took place whilst she was being groomed for “sexual exploitation”.
Hall said: “I know what most people are saying. ‘You could have said no.’ I get it. But my response to them is that I did say no, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Eventually, I gave in from the pressure.”
Hall continued: “They isolated me. Shunned me. They accused me, and they blamed me for becoming a victim.”
She added: “My supervisors worked together to take advantage of my vulnerabilities and mental health, and they used it for their gain and their sexual pleasure.”
Hall said no woman ‘should ever have to endure this type of abuse’, and that what happed to her at the police department ‘should never happy to anyone’.
“Who do you turn to when the chief of police is sexually harassing you?” she asked.
“How can I get justice when the entire system, including the chief, not only condoned such behavior but participated in it? I was lost, and I felt alone. I had no one to turn to and nowhere to go.”
In a statement commenting on the investigation and resulting terminations and suspension, Police Chief Burrell Davis said: “This is a difficult situation for our department and for the city, but I want to be clear that the actions of a few do not represent this department as a whole.
“We have sufficient staff to cover all of our patrol shifts and I have full confidence in our officer’s ability to protect and serve. We are working diligently to rebuild the trust of our citizens and our community.
“We understand this will take time and diligence from our command staff and officers to repair the honor and integrity of our department.”
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