CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston City Council members voted Monday evening to approve a settlement involving former police chief Tyke Hunt.
Tyke Hunt
The $375,000 settlement will resolve a lawsuit filed against the city by former officer Chelsea McCoy. McCoy alleges that Hunt tampered with her polygraph results during her application process in exchange for sex. McCoy previously stated that the two had sex in the polygraphy examination room and in Hunt’s office.
Hunt resigned as chief in August 2023, citing medical reasons. He served a 20-day suspension for violating department policies in April 2024, and was also demoted from lieutenant to corporal after the investigation had concluded.
“I’m pleased for Ms. McCoy,” council member Shannon Snodgrass said Monday. “I applaud her for standing up and continuing to stand up for what she believed occurred,” Snodgrass said. “I know that took a lot of guts.”
Snodgrass has been a supporter of McCoy and a second accuser of Hunt since the beginning of the process. She says from the time this came out close to two years ago to now, the city has lost a lot of money.
“I think it’s sad that it’s taken that long and a lot of money that had to be spent had we maybe handled this a little bit differently from the get-go,” Snodgrass said.
Shannon Snodgrass
Snodgrass brought up during Monday’s meeting that the city had expended $575,000 for the case. She says in addition to the damage done to the alleged victim, Hunt left damage to the city as a whole,
“I’d venture to say that this was one of our most expensive police chiefs in our past,” Snodgrass said.
Hunt officially was out of the department completely in June of 2024 after being granted his medical disability pension. Hunt underwent back surgery in the year before the department’s pension board made the decision.