NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Sumner County judge has ruled that Millersville's embattled city attorney cannot represent the town's mayor in an ouster suit that accuses the mayor of misconduct.
Chancellor Louis W. Oliver III ruled Friday that attorney Bryant Kroll has a conflict of interest in his representation of Mayor Tommy Long.
"The Court finds that there is an existing conflict of interest of Attorney Kroll while serving as City Attorney and that the defense of Mayor Long individually in the instant case is not the responsibility of the city," Chancellor Oliver wrote.
"Further, Attorney Kroll's role as a potential witness must be considered."
Oliver added, "These issues should have been known to Attorney Kroll before he undertook the representation of Mayor Long."
Kroll has repeatedly insisted that he did not see anything improper about his representation of his clients.
A recent NewsChannel 5 investigation raised questions about Kroll's potential conflicts, including his representation of Long in the ouster suit.
Kroll also serves as personal attorney for Police Chief Bryan Morris and Assistant Police Chief Shawn Taylor, while he advises the Millersville City Commission about how to handle complaints involving the two men in their capacity as city employees.
The city attorney advised the commission against investigating Taylor's outlandish conspiracy theories, citing a potential violation of Taylor's free-speech rights. He did not advise the commission about its potential interest in ensuring that Taylor is fit for the job.
Kroll later admitted to NewsChannel 5 Investigates that he had generated some of the background-check reports that have fueled some of the assistant chief's bizarre notions.
In addition, Kroll admitted that he currently faces numerous complaints with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, the agency that regulates the state's attorneys.
Under the chancellor's order, Mayor Tommy Long will have 15 days to find new counsel for his ouster suit.
Part One: Meet Millersville's conspiracy cop. He believes the completely bogus QAnon conspiracy theory that falsely claimed Democrats had kept child sex slaves locked up in the basement of a pizza parlor in Washington, D.C.
He imagines sinister plots involving some of the country's most prominent political figures, including his theory — with no evidence whatsoever — that former Vice President Al Gore was involved in the disappearance and murder of 20-year-old Holly Bobo in 2011.
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.
Part Two: The controversy over Millersville's conspiracy cop, first uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, 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 as the city's assistant police chief.
At the center of the controversy: Do Millersville residents want a high-ranking police official — with a gun, badge and the power to arrest people — who believes in bizarre conspiracy theories with no real evidence to back them up?
You can continue reading Part Two at this link.
Part Three: 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 because his client Shawn Taylor could sue his other client, the city.
The attorney's advice, delivered in an email sent Thursday, responded to a request from two city commissioners for a special meeting to review Taylor's hiring following NewsChannel 5's investigation of the self-described "gypsy cop."
"Interrogating Assistant Chief Taylor about his political viewpoints or political speech will violate his First Amendment rights and thereby expose the City to significant legal liability...," wrote Bryant Kroll.
You can read more of this installment at this link.
Part Four: 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.
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.
You can read more of Anna's story by tapping on this link.
Part Five: 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, who has become known as Millersville’s conspiracy cop, made those comments as he turned to a group of far-right podcasters to defend himself against questions raised by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
Tap this link to read from those Taylor's accused.
Part Six: Millersville officials are standing with their assistant police chief and his bizarre conspiracy theories regarding Nashville's Covenant School shooting.
City Commissioner David Gregory urged his fellow commissioners to demand that Shawn Taylor apologize for a 2023 podcast in which he had questioned the official story. Taylor falsely claimed that video released by police was actually staged.
But the three-member majority ignored Gregory's plea, just as they have refused a recent request by Gregory and Commissioner Cristina Templet for a special meeting of the city commission to discuss Taylor's hiring.
Read how this meeting played out at this link.
Part Seven: 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 personal attorney for Police Chief Bryan Morris and Assistant Police Chief Shawn Taylor, representing them in a lawsuit against the City of Ridgetop.
To understand the role he plays, you can read that here.
Part Eight: In Shawn Taylor's world — in the immortal words of Taylor Swift — "I'm the problem, it's me."
Not his bizarre conspiracy theories — with no evidence — imagining some of the most prominent people in the country are engaged in child sex trafficking.
I explain how we got here in this piece, which you can click on here.
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