NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Anna Caudill agreed to watch the video of Shawn Taylor knowing there might be only so much she could handle.
"So we'll start this," I reassured her, "and then, when you've had enough, you just stop it."
In the podcast video uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, Taylor shared bogus conspiracy theories about Nashville's Covenant School shooting. Now the assistant police chief in Millersville, Taylor was between police jobs at the time he recorded the podcast with two other conspiracy theorists.
"The three of us know something's not right, it doesn't pass the smell test, something's up," Taylor said, speaking of the Covenant tragedy.
For Anna, the mass shooting was personal.
Among the three children and three adults killed that day was her friend, Katherine Koonce, the school's beloved headmaster who was gunned down as she tried to stop the shooter.
But, in Shawn Taylor's twisted mind, the heroic victim was actually a villain.
"You guys know that I'm digging into the child trafficking and the human trafficking — and this woman just happened to be a part of that."
Anna gasped.
Taylor continued, "And she was being looked at that realm in the trafficking of children. She helped in the cover-up of kids that had come to her."
On and on, Taylor continued, outright lying about Anna's dear friend — until finally, she could take no more.
"No, I can't," she said, turning her head away from the video.
As promised, I stopped the video.
Metro Nashville police say those claims are a complete fabrication.
Processing what she had just heard, Anna began to speak. "I just can't imagine Katherine's family having to..."
But the tears quickly came.
"It's hard," I acknowledged.
"It's indecent," Anna answered.
"And I've learned since last year that, when something like this happens, there's a line of people who see an opportunity, who will step in and take a mic and pick it up and say nonsense like that because they see a chance to gain power that they crave. And it just ruins lives and it endangers people. It endangers everybody involved."
But Shawn Taylor had no shame.
Taylor also claimed that the Metro Nashville police bodycam video — showing the brave officers rushing toward the gunfire — was somehow staged.
"What I'm seeing there looks more like a training op," Taylor said on the podcast.
Anna was disgusted.
"There just aren't words. To think that somebody would stage such a thing. He knows that's not true. He knows that's not true. He just sees who has gotten away with it before."
Metro Police Chief John Drake, in a statement, called Taylor's claims "patently false."
"Creating or perpetuating baseless rumors such as these is irresponsible and serves no purpose but to cause harm to our community, especially to Covenant families,” Drake continued.
In Taylor, Anna Caudill sees an Alex Jones wannabe.
Jones was the conspiracy theorist who tried to spread doubts about the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, a shooting that left 20 students and six staff members dead.
I asked Anna, "What would you say to Shawn Taylor himself?"
She quickly shot back, "I would have nothing to say to him."
NewsChannel 5 legal analyst Nick Leonard said Taylor's bizarre theories about the Covenant School shooting "shock the conscience" and raise serious questions about the competence of a man who carries a gun and a badge.
"It's absolutely unbelievable," Leonardo said.
Added to that, Taylor's other bizarre views. For example, he claimed with zero evidence that prominent political figures — like Tennessee's Al Gore — have been involved in child trafficking. He also said he finds it suspicious when he cannot find anything suspicious.
"He is a defense attorney's dream," the veteran attorney told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
Leonardo said that Shawn Taylor's own words will be used to tear apart any case brought by the Millersville Police Department, which could mean that actual criminals will go free.
He argued that it was time for the state to step in and take over the city of Millersville.
"If this was just a patrol officer, then it would only jeopardize those arrests," he continued.
"But when you have an assistant police chief, I think it flows the whole way down in the department, and it jeopardizes every prosecution that Millersville is involved in."
I asked, "So if he touched a case at all, it's potentially damaged?"
"More than potentially damaged," Leonardo quickly responded. "I think it's done."
As Anna Caudill tried to process what she had heard, I was curious.
"In your mind, should he be a police officer in the state of Tennessee?"
"My mind is not the one that matters," she replied, "because it's not the one that has the power to do anything about that."
One thing that Anna knows is that her heroic friend does not deserve what Shawn Taylor has done to her memory.
"I wish I could trust at this point that we had leaders who would do something about that and address whether he's fit to serve public safety because I sure wouldn't want Alex Jones as the assistant chief of police."
While Taylor has refused to answer my questions, he has gone back to a couple of those podcasts in the last week, arguing that we are trying to violate his rights to free speech.
Now, some of his far-right allies are suggesting online that my investigation of Taylor may be a clue that either I am a pedophile or that I am trying to protect people engaged in child sex trafficking.
One of his allies has even put out a horrendous allegation that perhaps my late wife was really murdered.
My investigation continues.
——————————
Do you have information that would help me with my investigation? Send me your tips: phil.williams@newschannel5.com
Here is how this investigation has unfolded:
May 20, 2024: Meet Millersville's conspiracy cop. He imagines sinister plots involving some of the country's most prominent political figures. Taylor recently landed in Millersville as assistant police chief, promising to root out the corruption he sees there. You can continue reading at this hyperlink.
May 22, 2024: The controversy over Millersville's conspiracy cop has now become the latest scandal rocking the tiny town just north of Nashville. Now, two city commissioners want a special meeting to figure out how Shawn Taylor landed his job. You can continue reading Part Two at this link.
May 24, 2024: An attorney for Millersville conspiracy cop Shawn Taylor has told Millersville's city commission, whom he also represents, that they should not question the assistant police chief's bizarre theories or psychological fitness. You can read more of this installment at this link.
May 28, 2024: New podcast video, uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, reveals how Shawn Taylor spread false and dangerous conspiracy theories about last year's Covenant School shooting that left three students and three staff members dead. You can click here to review that story.
May 28, 2024: Anna Caudill agreed to watch the video of Shawn Taylor knowing there might be only so much she could handle. Among the three children and three adults killed that day was her friend, Katherine Koonce. You can read more of Anna's story by tapping on this link.
June 3, 2024: First, he went after Millersville’s former mayor. Now, the town’s assistant police chief says his two critics on the city commission could be next. Shawn Taylor made those comments as he turned to a group of far-right podcasters to defend himself. Tap this link to read from those Taylor's accused.
June 4, 2024: Millersville officials are standing with their assistant police chief and his bizarre conspiracy theories regarding Nashville's Covenant School shooting. Read how this meeting played out at this link.
June 5, 2024: Bryant Kroll wears a lot of hats. He's the attorney representing the embattled City of Millersville. He also represents Mayor Tommy Long, who faces accusations of misconduct in an ouster suit. Plus, he's the attorney for Bryan Morris and Shawn Taylor. To understand the role he plays, you can read that here.
June 6, 2024: In Shawn Taylor's world — in the immortal words of Taylor Swift — "I'm the problem, it's me." I explain how we got here in this piece, which you can click on here.
June 18, 2024: Millersville's conspiracy cop now has his very own conspiracy-minded attorney. Now, our NewsChannel 5 investigation has discovered that Todd Callender's own theories are sometimes even more far-fetched than Taylor’s twisted view of the world. Click here to read more about Shawn Taylor’s attorney.
July 15, 2024: What happens when you give people with bizarre conspiracy theories a gun and a badge? Secret recordings from inside the troubled Millersville Police Department provide a sobering answer to that question. Read more on this investigation by tapping here.
July 22, 2024: In an explosive new development that could bring new trouble for the already-troubled Millersville Police Department, a key player in a child-predator sting says the lead detective on that operation lied under oath. You can read more about that by clicking here.
July 23, 2024: District Attorney General Robert Nash has asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the Millersville Police Department's handling of a child predator sting, including possible perjury by the lead detective. You can read more about that by tapping here.
July 29, 2024: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has expanded its probe of the embattled Millersville Police Department, now looking into allegations that officials may have used sensitive law enforcement data to investigate their political enemies. Read more about that by clicking here.
August 5, 2024: With the Millersville Police Department now the focus of a TBI investigation, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has uncovered new questions about the stories that conspiracy cop Shawn Taylor tells about himself. You can catch up on the investigation by tapping here.
August 12, 2024: In a perplexing pair of podcast interviews, the Millersville chief of police says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has begun limiting his department's access to certain sensitive law enforcement data. Read more about this latest development here.
August 26, 2024: He has helped to fuel some of the wild conspiracy theories inside the troubled Millersville Police Department. He is a self-proclaimed pedophile hunter who believes America is controlled by what he calls "a satanic cult masquerading as Jews." Read more about Craig Sawyer by clicking here.
August 27, 2024: Craig Sawyer’s response to my investigation illustrates how conspiracy theorists frequently use wild accusations and blustery language to avoid giving real answers about their bizarre beliefs. Tap here to watch as we dissect his 90-minute diatribe.
September 4, 2024: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents raided the Millersville Police Department and Shawn Taylor’s home, executing a pair of search warrants as the criminal investigation into the troubled agency enters a dramatic new phase. Read more about this new twist in the Millersville investigation.
September 10, 2024: “No, a TBI agent didn't pee in Shawn Taylor's tub, agency says in response to Taylor's latest claim.” The headline says it all. Click here.
September 19, 2024: QAnon-aligned voices of the far right are threatening retaliation against a judge, a district attorney and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents for their roles in the recent Millersville raids. Details posted here.
October 7, 2024: A well-known Arizona election denier says his group — working through Millersville's conspiracy-minded assistant police chief — gained access to a highly confidential federal database that tracks Americans’ banking transactions and other financial data. Read the exclusive story here.
October 22, 2024: Two key GOP lawmakers – the chairman and a member of the state House committee that oversees the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – recently warned the agency that it could face “unnecessary political fallout” if it does not end its criminal probe into the troubled Millersville Police Department. You can read the letter here.
October 24, 2024: A letter from two GOP lawmakers, which appeared to threaten the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for its probe of the Millersville Police Department, was the "wrong way to go," House Speaker Cameron Sexton said. But there is more to the speaker's reaction.
December 9, 2024: Shawn Taylor, the conspiracy-minded cop now at the center of a criminal investigation, has resigned from his position as assistant chief for the Millersville Police Department after less than a year on the job. Read more here.
Related videos, stories: