A $1 million lawsuit has been filed against the City of Livingston and a former police officer by a woman who says the officer sent her inappropriate photos after he arrested her.

The suit was filed by Attorney Richard Brooks on August 29 in Overton County Circuit Court for Melody Cummings of Livingston.

Former Livingston Police Officer Brandon Walker, Police Chief Greg Etheredge, and the City of Livingston are named as defendants in the suit.

Cummings, a nurse, says that on Aug. 28, 2010, Livingston Police Officer Brandon Walker stopped her for suspicion of drunk driving. She alleges that the officer asked her to “go down the road” with him and offered to let her go without being charged if she would do that.

She also alleges that the officer touched her inappropriately. But other officers soon arrived on the scene and Walker then conducted sobriety tests and arrested her.

At some point after the arrest, Officer Walker allegedly programmed his phone number into Cummings’ cell phone, then later after she got out of jail, began sending her text messages, a photo showing the officer’s genitals, the lawsuit says.

Cummings retained Cookeville Attorney Shawn Frye to represent her, and he arranged a meeting for her with District Attorney Randy York, Livingston Police Chief Etheredge, and Livingston Mayor Curtis Hayes.

“During that meeting, her cell phone was passed around so that everyone could read the text messages and see the picture,” the lawsuit says.

After that, DA York offered Cummings two options, the suit says: the state would press criminal charges against Officer Walker and her charges would be dropped, or Walker would lose his job and her charges would be dropped.

She agreed to the option to which Walker would lose his job and her charges would be dropped, and her understanding was that Officer Walker “would not ever work in law enforcement again,” the suit says.

She did not want another woman to “experience the same emotional trauma that she has experienced due to the inappropriate actions of Defendant Walker,” the suit says.

But after that, Chief Etheredge wrote a letter of recommendation for Walker to get a job at the Fentress County Sheriff’s Department, the lawsuit alleges; however, Walker left that job and was then hired to work for the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department, according to the lawsuit.

And, he later lost the Van Buren County job, allegedly for sending inappropriate messages to another woman he had stopped for suspicion of DUI, the suit says.

The lawsuit alleges that the City of Livingston and Chief Etheredge “condoned and ratified” Walker’s actions and cites as evidence of the letter of recommendation that Etheredge wrote for Walker.

The lawsuit says what happened to Cummings at the hands of Officer Walker was an invasion of privacy, that it was “negligent infliction of emotional distress,” false arrest, false imprisonment, assault and battery, sexual battery, abuse of process, and indecent exposure.

Walker “used his position as an authority figure to gain advantage in order to further his sexual interests,” the suit says.

Cummings is asking for $500,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.