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Committee member cites video of alleged slurs; council accepts resignations
Summary
A council member told the Lebanon City Council a police video contains offensive language allegedly used by city employee Derrick Missy and urged action on a "toxic" workplace; the council voted to accept multiple resignations, including Michelle Davis, and pledged follow-up.
A Committee member (Speaker 4) told the Lebanon City Council on April 30 that a police-video recording captured offensive language by city employee Derrick Missy and said the council must address a growing, "toxic" workplace. The remarks prompted supportive comments from other members and led the council to accept several resignations.
"This conversation and the language used is very offensive," Committee member (Speaker 4) told the council, reading from what the speaker described as a portion of a police video. In the excerpt Speaker 4 quoted on the dais the recording includes phrases the speaker described in explicit terms, and said witnesses asserted the language implied inappropriate and disrespectful conduct toward Michelle Davis.
Speaker 4 said the video shows the officer arriving at Missys residence and recorded Missy saying he was on workers' comp, then including an offensive phrase. "At 1 minute 53 seconds... the officer said, 'Are you ready to retire yet, Missy?' and Missy responded in a way that witnesses found very offensive," Speaker 4 said, according to the transcript.
Council members debated and then voted to accept multiple personnel items. The council recorded roll-call votes after discussion; for one resignation vote the transcript records at least two "no" votes but an overall majority that carried the motion to accept the resignation of Michelle Davis (last day reported as May 13). Committee members who supported raising the matter said bringing it into the open was necessary to rebuild trust.
Other council speakers praised the speaker for raising the issue. "It wasn't easy. I thought it was very thorough," Committee member (Speaker 8) said, adding that the council should not sweep such matters "under the rug." The mayoral chair (Speaker 1) and others said the administration must restore accountability and set expectations for workplace behavior.
The council did not take disciplinary action reported on the public record at this meeting beyond accepting resignations and referring personnel items to committee as needed. Several members said they would pursue follow-up steps to restore trust and review processes for addressing unacceptable behavior.
Next steps, as discussed during the meeting, included staff and council follow-up and committee consideration of personnel policies and possible additional administrative steps.
