Lawsuit amended in Johnson City/PD case

A judge has granted former special prosecutor Kat Dahl’s request to amend her lawsuit against Johnson City and its police department over objections by the defendants. The judge’s Jan. 5 order also denies a defense motion to disallow any information related to an audit of the Johnson City Police Department’s handling of sexual assault cases. This stems from the initial suit, alleging the JCPD fired Dahl in July 2021 because she pushed then-Police Chief Karl Turner and his officers to investigate and seize Sean Williams. Williams, at the time a downtown business owner and now in federal custody, had been the subject of multiple sexual assault reports and Dahl suspected he was responsible for many more. If the suit isn’t settled or dismissed by the judge, a jury trial is scheduled to begin May 14 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.