SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - The mayor of a northern Tennessee town asked police to target political opponents for traffic violations and used derogatory language about homosexuals and blacks, officers testified Monday.
The officers testified at a hearing to determine whether Coopertown Mayor Danny Crosby should be temporarily removed from office while a petition to oust him is pending in the courts.
Five hundred of the town's 3,000 residents signed a petition seeking his removal; District Attorney John W. Carney is seeking the interim suspension.
Crosby did not speak with reporters at the hearing. His attorney, Tim Harvey, said the ouster petition is the result of a group of political opponents.
Police Sgt. Chuck Williams testified that Crosby asked him to send an anonymous e-mail telling one of the mayor's more vocal opponents to leave town. Williams said he did not send the e-mail, but told Crosby he did to avoid what he called the mayor's hot temper.
Officer Charles Consiglio Jr. said the mayor had requested that police stake out another opponent's home and cite him for traffic violations.
Crosby took a personal interest in traffic violations, often calling in infractions he had witnessed, the officers testified. They said they were never asked to fabricate violations.
Crosby's zealous traffic enforcement boosted the city's projected revenue from traffic enforcement and court fees last fiscal year to $400,000, up from $12,000 the year before.
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