(Story courtesy of WVLT News)
Union County, TN (WVLT) A former Union County Sheriff’s Office employee, who also serves as the county’s E-911 director, has accused Sheriff Billy Breeding of filing a false disciplinary complaint against her then firing her from her job because she spoke up about it. She’s also accused the sheriff of making sexual comments toward her.
It’s a complex timeline that unfolded in the fall of 2024, outlined by a lawsuit filed on Oct. 10, 2025 by the former employee: Morgan Crider.
Sheriff Breeding files disciplinary action against Crider
In the lawsuit, Crider said the back-and-forth between her and the county began on Sept. 20, 2024, when Breeding, who also acted as the E-911 director, issued a notice of disciplinary action against Crider.
WVLT News also obtained a copy of the notice. It said Crider had made “improper comments that were sexual in nature” about inmates at the end of August. Breeding suspended her for three days without pay, moved her to an overnight shift and ordered her to take sexual harassment classes.
Crider’s lawsuit claims that from the start, she denied Breeding’s accusations. It also claims that she tried to appeal the action, but wasn’t able to get any response from the sheriff’s office or the county’s emergency communications operation, even after she got Darrick Edmondson, a Maynardville lawyer, involved.
In a letter from Edmondson to the county, the attorney said Crider wanted to appeal the action. That letter went unanswered, the lawsuit says, so Crider and Edmondson went to two public E-911 board meetings to make their case.
Sheriff Breeding resigns as E-911 director, Crider is picked as replacement
During the second meeting Crider and Edmondson attended, which was on Oct. 15, 2024, Breeding stepped down as E-911 director.
Meeting minutes obtained by WVLT News and mentioned in the lawsuit show that Crider, even in the middle of her disciplinary action appeal, was appointed interim director of Union County’s E-911 service.
The next day, Crider’s lawsuit says, she was fired from her job at the sheriff’s office as a violent crimes analyst. The reasoning on the notice given to her is listed as “Other: At Will Employment.”
The lawsuit also claims that termination notice was signed off by Breeding himself.
Crider’s cleared of original disciplinary complaint
Also at that Oct. 15 meeting, the E-911 board hired another attorney — William Hickman — to look into Crider’s disciplinary action appeal. A letter to the board, dated Nov. 18, 2024 and also obtained by WVLT, says the complaint against Crider was unfounded.
“[I]t appears that the disciplinary action was incorrectly instituted, incorrectly memorialized in writing, and therefore null and void,” Hickman’s letter said. “It is my consideration that the E911 board declare that this action was similarly null and void, and it not be placed in the employee’s personnel file and it be rescinded as an official act of the E911 board.”
Hickman’s findings were flagged as a major reason for its claim that Crider shouldn’t have been fired.
What is the lawsuit arguing?
The lawsuit claims Crider’s firing violated two state laws: the Tennessee Public Employee Political Freedom Act and the Tennessee Public Protection Act.
Those two laws guarantee certain freedoms to public employees, like those who work for county offices. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that Breeding fired Crider in retaliation for her publicly bringing up her appeal at the E-911 board meetings.
Tennessee law protects employees from speaking about their work to public officials, if the claims they make are true. Crider’s lawsuit points to the letter from Hickman, which cleared her, as proof that Crider’s comments at the board meetings were truthful.
Crider accuses Breeding of making sexual comments
On top of everything to do with Crider’s firing and the complaint made against her, the lawsuit also claims Breeding made sexual comments toward her and other sheriff’s office employees.
Specifically, the suit claims Breeding said he would like to use a “casting couch” with Crider and other members of the sheriff’s office. The alleged comment is a reference to pornographic material where employees give sexual favors in exchange for employment.
The lawsuit also claims Breeding making sexual comments was “not altogether uncommon.”
What is Crider asking for?
Crider is arguing that the disciplinary action, firing and unwelcome sexual comments have caused her significant damages.
She’s asked for a $300,000 payout, damages for the two laws the office is accused of breaking and attorney fees.
WVLT has reached out to Sheriff Breeding for comment, but has not heard back.
