The Tennessee Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission has decided to decertify former La Vergne Police Chief Burrel Davis, preventing him from serving in law enforcement in the state. This action follows the revelation of a sex scandal involving several La Vergne officers, with Davis being implicated in having knowledge of, and possibly enabling, the misconduct.

WKRN reports that the Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission found text messages between Police Chief Davis and former Sgt. Ty McGowan showing a lack of professionalism. In one message, Davis acknowledged a photo involving Officer Hall and didn’t object when McGowan responded, “yep,” to an inappropriate comment. Davis testified that he didn’t know about any sexual relationships in the department until the investigation started, but the text messages suggested otherwise.

Davis sued the city of La Vergne, claiming he was fired because of his race, while white supervisors weren’t punished. His lawsuit was dismissed because it was filed a day late. Meanwhile, Officer Maegan Hall, involved in a separate scandal, sued the city for a hostile work environment and received a $500,000 settlement. These events are putting the La Vergne Police Department under close scrutiny, according to WSMV and NewsChannel 5.