Two former Soddy-Daisy police officers who claimed they were wrongfully terminated for speaking out about another officer’s behavior will get $830,000, evenly split, in a settlement of their federal lawsuit against the city.
Former Lt. Jake Elrod and former Capt. Eric Jenkins sued the city, City Manager Burt Johnson, Police Chief Billy Petty and former Police Chief Mike Sneed in August 2024. When they first filed, Elrod and Jenkins had asked for damages of $1 million each, including other fees, pay and benefits.
Elrod and Jenkins argued they were fired after giving truthful testimony in open court. They said their allegations about a fellow officer’s alleged untrustworthiness and alleged sexual fantasies involving children weren’t properly handled.
City officials said the officers were let go because they degraded colleagues, plotted to get a fellow officer fired and wanted control of the Police Department. Sneed deemed the accusations against the fellow officer as unfounded.
Attorney Logan Davis said by phone that she is representing Elrod and Jenkins along with attorneys Lance Pope and Jonathan Guthrie. None of them are open to commenting about the settlement at this time, she said.