MILLERSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After months of controversy in Millersville, the first meeting of the new city commission Tuesday night brought a hint of drama — along with the hope of a fresh start.
The swearing-in of three new commission members marked the end of a year of far-right control of the Millersville City Commission — a period of controversy driven in part by the hiring of QAnon-inspired conspiracy theorist Shawn Taylor as assistant police chief.
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Back in September, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation raided Millersville police headquarters, as well as Taylor's personal residence. That TBI investigation is continuing.
As the three newly election commissioners prepared to take their seats, Taylor decided it was time for him to move on.
"He actually called and said he was retiring," Police Chief Bryan Morris told the newly elected commission.
Then, there was a question about Morris himself, who has served as interim city manager since April. Morris agreed that the new board probably needed someone else to serve as interim city manager until they could hire a fulltime person for the job.
"I'm just simply saying I'm not a city manager," he said. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I am the best city manager you could hire. I'm a police chief."
That decision left the commission to decide the fate of City Attorney Bryant Kroll, who has drawn criticism and a rebuke from a local judge for his conflicts of interest.
Kroll objected to concerns expressed by new Commissioner Dustin Darnall.
"Your debate is not with me — it's with Chancellor Oliver," Darnall said, referring to the Sumner County judge who ruled against Kroll trying to serve as both city attorney and as personal attorney for then-Mayor Tommy Long in an ouster suit.
"And there's been no money billed to the city for that," Kroll responded.
Darnall noted that, with Millersville facing a significant financial crisis, the town's budget for legal services had tripled since Kroll was hired at the beginning of the year — from about $32,000 a year to $100,000.
And Kroll's fee of $200 an hour was never approved by the commission, as required by law, the commissioner added.
Darnall made a motion to cut Kroll's hourly fee to $15 an hour.
"We can't pay a $100,000 for a city attorney," he later told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
That proposal did not sit well with Kroll.
"I'll just add that the law has a term for this — it's called breach of contract and inducement to breach of contract. I'm going to go ahead and tender my resignation."
Kroll immediately packed up his computer and left — and, with that, his controversial tenure as city attorney was also finished.
Yet, if he wants to claim that the board broke his contract, he may have made a tactical mistake.
"He should have waited until we passed the motion," Darnall later said. "He quit, and the motion was withdrawn — so we never changed his pay."
Still, Millersville city commissioner found reason for optimism as they looked at the crowd of citizens who came to watch the proceedings.
"I haven't seen this many people out here except for when we've had bad news — this is just amazing to see," said newly elected commissioner Jesse Powell.
Veteran commissioner David Gregory agreed.
For the past year, Gregory had been on the losing side of many votes.
"And we are going to make this city Millersville once again," he added.
It was a view seemingly shared by the residents who applauded the results of the first meeting of the new Millersville City Commission.
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.