Attorneys for the city of Athens, Tennessee, and its city manager deny allegations in a multimillion-dollar suit filed in March by a former police chief claiming violation of his civil rights and retaliation by the city manager for speaking out about interference with his authority as chief.
Former Chief Cliff Couch filed the suit in U.S. District Court alleging violation of his First Amendment rights and accusing City Manager C. Seth Sumner of retaliating against him for speaking out about activities involving Sumner.
The suit stems from a dispute between Couch and Sumner over the police chief's contentions that Sumner interfered with his authority as chief, pressured him to investigate an elected city official and retaliated against him for going to other elected officials with his suspicions about Sumner by firing Couch.
Couch was fired in October amid an Athens City Council probe into disagreements between the two men. He is seeking $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages and seeks to triple the award under specific guidelines that, if applicable and the case is decided in Couch's favor, would increase the total to $6 million, according to the suit.
"On behalf of the city of Athens, Mr. Couch's claims are denied as set out in the city's answer to the complaint. The city intends to vigorously defend these allegations," Sumner's attorney, Dan Pilkington, said Wednesday in an email.
A comment from the city's lawyer was similar.
"On behalf of Mr. Sumner, we stand behind our answer denying the allegations of Mr. Couch and intend to defend the matter vigorously," the city's attorney, Keith H. Grant, said Wednesday in an email.
(READ MORE: New police chief named in Athens, Tennessee)
In the suit, Couch accuses Sumner of repeatedly crossing ethical lines, retaliating against him and other city employees for refusing to advance the city manager's political agenda and slowly stripping the police chief's authority starting in 2019.
That was when Sumner allegedly asked Couch to fix a citation he had been issued in February that year for having a loaded firearm with him at a Knoxville airport. Couch refused, the suit states.
In his answer to Couch's suit, Sumner flatly denies he violated Couch's civil rights and, though he admits he had a gun he unknowingly left in a carry-on bag at a Knoxville airport, he denied asking Couch to fix the citation.
Couch accused Sumner of trying in May 2020 to get him to file unwarranted charges against a local resident, but the judge wouldn't sign a warrant in the matter for lack of probable cause, Couch's suit states.
Sumner denied he pressured Couch to file the charges but he didn't deny Couch's contention the city manager held one-on-one meetings with Couch and others while driving around McMinn County in Sumner's car, which Couch in his suit said "was both odd and intimidating."
Sumner said in his answer he had no way of knowing Couch's feelings about the practice.
During one such meeting on July 15, 2020, Couch contends Sumner started asking about City Councilman Dick Pelley's involvement in a federal lawsuit.
Sumner, however, denied wrongdoing and Couch's characterization of the situation.
On Sept. 2, 2020, Couch called 10th Judicial District Attorney General Stephen Crump about some of the issues he was experiencing with Sumner, the suit states. Sumner denies any knowledge of the meeting or topics discussed.
Couch contends in the suit Sumner told him during a one-on-one meeting a week later to put a positive spin on reports, presentations and memorandums about the state of the police department and accused Couch of painting a negative picture of the department.
Sumner characterized the remark in his answer that he told Couch, at the direction of the City Council, "to speak honestly and positively regarding his monthly reports to the City Council."
At a meeting held Sept. 30, 2020, between Couch, Sumner and others acting as facilitators, Couch voiced his concerns about being asked to cross what he believed to be ethical lines in being pressured to investigate Pelley and that he felt he couldn't run his department without interference from the city manager, the suit states.
In his answer, Sumner denies pressuring Couch or that his complaints had merit.
The dissolving relationship between the city manager and the police chief continued to worsen in November 2020 when a surveillance camera in the police department lobby malfunctioned. A replacement was sought from a supply closet and two Nest surveillance cameras were discovered missing, the suit states.
The cameras were thought to have once been in the possession of the city manager, according to officers who saw the cameras last, and Couch launched an investigation after hearing discrepancies in accounts of what happened to the cameras, the suit states. Both cameras later turned up in two different locations.
During the Nest camera investigation, Couch went again to Crump to provide the information about the cameras. Crump in early 2021 concluded there was a lack of evidence to charge Sumner with taking the cameras.
Meanwhile, Couch contends in the suit he continued to voice concerns that he was being retaliated against by Sumner, and the feud between Couch and Sumner simmered for months in Athens.
In response, the City Council called a meeting in August to discuss issues revolving around Sumner.
During the meeting, Sumner said he had the cameras briefly in his office when he was considering a home security purchase for his wife for Christmas and returned them the next day.
He said they never left city property, the Chattanooga Times Free Press previously reported.
Couch's suit states he detailed allegations of Sumner's retaliation against him and told council members about his own allegations that Sumner tried to get Couch to fix the citation and investigate a sitting City Council member.
In his answer, Sumner denied the allegations and accused Couch of misquoting and misstating Sumner's remarks in the meeting.
The August meeting was recessed after several hours. Illnesses and COVID-19 concerns delayed the reconvened meeting until Oct. 18, the suit states. Ten days before that meeting was to take place, Sumner fired Couch.
In an Oct. 11 work session - the same day Couch's firing was announced - Couch contends Sumner refused to answer questions about the firing.
The answer said "Sumner would not answer questions regarding plaintiff's termination based upon advice of counsel," but denied Couch's characterization he "refused" to explain reasons for the firing.
During the Oct. 18 meeting, Sumner again refused to give a reason for Couch's firing, the suit states. At the end of that meeting, Sumner was suspended without pay for two weeks.
Sumner's answer denies any pattern of retaliation against Couch or that he similarly attacked city employees or department heads.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.