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Fired Paducah police Officer Melina Taylor said she may seek legal action against the city commission, which voted Tuesday night to fire her after deciding she was guilty of numerous violations brought against her by the department.
Taylor, who signed a legal agreement Friday stating "sufficient evidence exists to warrant termination of her employment," said Tuesday that the evidence was gathered during an "internal investigation that's full of lies."
Taylor was not at the meeting because she already signed an agreement with the city and didn't see a reason to attend, she said. But now, Taylor said she may sue the city despite the agreement.
City Attorney Stacey Blankenship of Denton & Keuler said any claim filed would be a breach in agreement and the city would have a "valid breach of contract against her."
Chief Randy Bratton brought the request to fire Taylor to the commission because of charges including firing her department-issued gun into the air after what was described as a domestic dispute with her husband last summer. Taylor said she was upset when she thought her husband left her, so she went into a field outside their Massac County, Ill., home and fired four shots into the air. She said the shots were fired when she was "contemplating suicide," which she decided against after hearing her daughter's voice from her house.
"I've never hurt anyone," she said. "I just rant and rave and act stupid."
Taylor said she signed the agreement so she could receive unemployment benefits from the city. She said she would not have received any benefits if she had resigned.
After hearing the commission's ruling, Bratton said it's unfortunate to lose an officer, but "in this case, the misconduct was so severe, especially by a police officer, that termination was the only option."
"(People) need to know that we will hold our employees accountable when violations are proven," he said.
Bratton would not comment about a possible lawsuit. |
