A former Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputy appeared in Nashville on Thursday, trying to keep his law enforcement certification after being fired for having sexual relations while on duty.
Former deputy Louis Hamlet was once a bailiff inside the Shelby County Civil and Chancery Courthouse on Adams Street.
On Thursday, Hamlet asked the Tennessee Post Commission to consider delaying a vote on his certification while he waits for his civil service hearing to play out.
“I just got two questions,” one of the commissioners asked. “Did you engage in oral sex inside of the courtroom?”
“I didn’t engage in oral sex, she engaged in oral sex. I received, yes,” Hamlet admitted.
“Okay, were there citizens in the building at the time?” the commissioner asked.
“I can’t say, my court was down,” Hamlet replied.
FOX13 Investigates obtained Hamlet’s disciplinary file from the initial investigation. In it, he admits to sexual activity in a courtroom with a woman, which came to light after the woman reported Hamlet to Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit and Bureau of Professional Standards.
“The complaint alleges that Deputy Hamlet forced her to engage in sexual acts several times,” said Detective Durrell Taylor.
The woman said Hamlet threatened her with his gun. But records show investigators found her accusations to be false, and charges were never filed.
In his hearing in Nashville, Hamlet maintained what happened was consensual.
“As you heard the detective give you the information on the false allegations of sexual misconduct did not happen,” he said. “And, as he said, I told the truth behind it.”
Still, the Sheriff fired Hamlet in August for violating the department’s policies of personal conduct and prohibited activity while on duty. Hamlet has multiple federal lawsuits and complaints filed against the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
