City lawyers in JC lawsuit ask judge to exclude PD audit report

Lawyers for Johnson City and former police chief Karl Turner are asking a judge in former prosecutor Kat Dahl’s federal lawsuit against them to disallow evidence related to the consultant who audited the city’s handling of sexual assault cases after the lawsuit was filed. The motion comes a week after a judge ruled the audit could be viewed by Dahl’s attorneys. That report levied multiple criticisms of JCPD’s handling of sexual assault cases between 2018 and the end of 2022. The city says it has already implemented all but one of the report’s recommendations for improvement. Dahl’s suit claims JCPD terminated her in retaliation after she pressured JCPD to more thoroughly investigate sexual assault allegations against former downtown businessman Sean Williams. Lawyers for Johnson City say allowing the audit into evidence could lead to unfair prejudice or confuse or mislead the jury.