Former officer seeks mayor’s resignation: Hainey contends city officials trample liberties of employees

By DUANE SHERRILL Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Fired from his job as a McMinnville policeman shortly after he being cited for heroism for pulling a child from a burning apartment, a former patrolman has filed suit, asking for damages and the resignations of the city’s top brass.

The former policeman, Michael William Hainey, now a deputy in neighboring Cannon County, filed the suit last week in which he asked the court to require the immediate resignations of McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport, City Administrator Herb Llewellyn and Police Chief Joe Melton. He is also asking for $25,000 in damages, along with lost earnings, punitive damages and he wants to the city to rehire him so he can resign with honor.

“They’ve (city officials) trampled on the liberties of their employees for too long,” Hainey said. “There are some up there who are drunk with power. It seems like some of them are obsessed about who your daddy is or who you drink beer with.”

Hainey said he was fired last year under the city’s at-will employment policy which allows termination at any time. Hainey maintains the termination came after city officials did not agree with an arrest he made and the subsequent grand jury proceedings.

Controversy surrounded Hainey’s use of a tape recorder in the grand jury proceedings, a recorder found by District Attorney General Dale Potter. The incident was not against the law but was an unusual break with grand jury etiquette.

In filing the suit, Hainey maintained city officials use the at-will policy in a prejudicial manner.

“The at-will policy is used all too often to further personal vendettas,” Hainey said. “It’s high time someone takes a stand against what the city of McMinnville calls its leadership.”

Hainey further questioned why he would be cited for heroism by the city and then terminated only a few months later. Hainey was credited with pulling three children from a burning house in West Riverside early last year. All together, Hainey worked as a city officer for a little under two years.

In response to the suit, attorney Michael Galligan who will represent the city in the case, defended the municipal leadership, saying they were well in their rights to terminate Hainey.

“The city’s position is justified in the action they took against Mr. Hainey,” Galligan said of the suit. “We will be filing our answer to the suit shortly.”

At present, Hainey plans to represent himself in the lawsuit.