Chattanooga’s new city treasurer is named in three federal lawsuits from former police officers in Wyoming, accused of hacking a police chief’s emails, sharing classified information about an investigation into city employees and firing the officers out of retaliation.
The lawsuits were filed against Kate Farmer, who was appointed to serve as Chattanooga’s treasurer in late March and approved by the City Council on Tuesday.
Farmer previously served as clerk and treasurer of Guernsey, Wyoming. According to the lawsuits, Farmer failed to make funds available to the police department there to pay two additional hired officers in 2019, which began a disagreement between Farmer and former police Chief Terri Van Dam.
The former chief alleges that Farmer later illegally hacked her email and disseminated confidential information in an attempt to usurp an investigation into corruption and drug use among other city employees. The information had been turned over to state and federal law enforcement using Van Dam’s city email, according to the complaints filed by Van Dam and the other two officers.
The lawsuits, all filed in April, are still underway in federal court in Wyoming, raising concern among some Chattanooga City Council members who were unaware of Farmer’s legal battles when they voted unanimously to approve her appointment Tuesday.