NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Town of Nolensville is now calling on the district attorney to investigate allegations that Police Chief Roddy Parker fixed traffic tickets for town commissioners.
Only the remaining three commissioners who were not named in a recent ethics review were allowed to vote and they all agreed to not spend any Nolensville money on an external investigation.
The internal review published by Town Attorney Charles Michels focused on three videos that he says appears to show Commissioner Lisa Garramone and Vice Mayor Wendy Cook-Mucci getting out of traffic tickets in 2020.
Michels drafted a 10-page report detailing how both commissioners and Chief Parker violated the town’s ethics policy for either altering tickets or accepting the nullified citations.
On Thursday, commissioners offered public comment on these allegations with the understanding that there could be disciplinary actions handed down for either commissioner and Chief Parker.
It was very clear early on that almost no one in the audience wanted Chief Parker to lose his job over these allegations.
Some were in tears as Parker apologized to the board and the town for any shame he may have brought to the town.
“Right, wrong, or indifferent. I thought I was making the best choice at the time. I apologize for bringing any black eye on the town. Never my intent. I have spent my whole five years here trying to lift up this town in any manner that I could," Parker said.
Chief Parker admitted to voiding Commissioner Garramone’s ticket but offered the explanation that he was trying to keep the peace after a contentious local election in 2020.
“There was no ill intent. I did not receive anything from the voiding the ticket, nor would I have accepted anything,” Parker said.
Garramone was pulled over not long after getting the job as commissioner, but the ethics review claims she got out of the speeding ticket because of her position.
Body camera footage from the traffic stop shows Garramone telling officers she had just met with Chief Parker earlier in the night.
Officers appeared shocked when they realized Garramone was a commissioner and debated on whether to write her a ticket for driving 20 mph over the speed limit.
They chose to write the ticket anyway, with the expectation that Chief Parker would take care of the ticket as he has in the past. The ethics review suggests the officers may have been referring to a ticket written months earlier for Cook-Mucci.
She was pulled over for running a stop sign.
Police wrote a ticket, but Cook-Mucci says she doesn’t recall if it was a ticket or a warning. Chief Parker also doesn’t recall if it was initially a ticket.
According to the review, Cook-Mucci received a ticket that only later mysteriously became a warning.
“I didn’t pursue it. I should have. I should have gone back and saw what was there and thought about why I had a warning,” Cook-Mucci said.
Cook-Mucci said she recalls telling Town Manager Victor Lay about her ticket after the controversy began to surface involving Commissioner Garramone.
“In our position, when we’re given any opportunity for special treatment or to be treated differently or any favors, it is up to us to rise above and be aware of that. So for that, I’m very sorry and I would ask for an independent investigation,” Cook-Mucci said.
There was only some mention of the third video, which appeared to show Commissioner Garramone walking up to officers while they helped another driver.
Body camera footage showed Garramone appear from the driver’s side of her vehicle, introduce herself as commissioner and offer help.
Garramone later left once again walking to the driver’s side of her car, but we don’t see her climb in the driver’s seat.
We then hear one officer say, “commissioner or not, tell Chief next time her ass is drinking and driving, I’m arresting her.”
Officers later said they never actually saw Garramone climb in the driver’s seat or smelled any alcohol. The ethics review concluded that there was no evidence to suggest Garramone was drinking and driving.
Garramone does admit she was drinking that night, but that she gave the keys to a friend to drive her car. The review states that Garramone is adamant she was not driving on October 17 and will provide the identities of other passengers in the vehicle to confirm this.
Garramone tells us she has no plans of releasing any names and that she won’t be commenting any more than she already has through her lawsuit.
A tearful Garamone was once again adamant that she was not drinking and driving. She apologized to the audience and appeared to blame dirty politics for the public records requests that led to this investigation.
Garramone is running for re-election, meanwhile Cook-Mucci’s term ends at the end of the year.
“That’s why I filed the lawsuit because I’m being accused of something I did not do. The people spreading this rumor know it’s false, but they’re counting on people not to investigate the entire matter in hopes it affects the outcome of this election. I am willing to submit to a complete background check to show that I have a clean and clear record,” Garramone said.
Garramone tried to explain her intentions for appearing to namedrop Chief Parker in her Dec. 2020 speeding ticket. She says she only mentioned Chief Parker’s name because she did indeed see him that evening.
“I did not ask Chief Parker to void the ticket. As he has stated, he thought he had the authority to do that and I always view him as a trusted authority figure and I still do. At the time I thought he was allowed to do what he was doing and I didn’t question it,” Garramone said.
Garramone went on to say she accepts the findings in the investigation and the possibility of censure, which attorneys have said is the worst punishment commissioners can face at the hands of the board.
Ultimately the remaining Board of Commissioners agreed it was not necessary to pay for another investigation.
Mayor Derek Adams made the motion to present the findings of the ethics review to DA Kim Helper, but not before making it clear he doesn’t feel another investigation should come at the expense of local taxpayers.
“(Chief Parker) is probably the most respected person in all of Nolensville. I’m just really disappointed that politics and an election have resulted in what we’re going through tonight. What does Nolensville gain from a third-party investigation? Nothing, there is nothing to gain. I don’t see any positivity coming from a paid third-party investigation over two minor traffic infractions. I also believe in second chances, and I know that Lisa, Wendy, and Roddy are incredible human beings, and they had no negative intent over any of the decisions that they made,” Adams said.
The Board also concluded that any disciplinary action against Chief Parker has to come from Town Manager Lay, who in so many words said he doesn’t believe anything else is necessary at this time.
Lay told the audience that he doesn’t believe it’s his right to punish the beloved Chief for something that happened before Lay took office as Town Manager.
We did speak with DA Helper on Thursday who said she is prepared to review the ethics report. She says people have already sent her documents, but it’s still too soon to determine if she needs TBI to investigate.
