Tarrant Police Chief’s $110,000 ‘Goodbye Forever’ Settlement

In January 2026, the city of Tarrant, Alabama, settled a federal harassment lawsuit brought by former police officer Chante Crosby against Police Chief Wendell Major for $110,000, under a “goodbye forever” agreement that permanently severed Crosby’s employment with the city and barred her from ever seeking a job there again. The payout was funded by Tarrant’s municipal insurance company and split evenly between Crosby and her attorneys, with both the city and Major continuing to deny any wrongdoing.¹

What Crosby Alleged

Crosby filed suit in federal court on October 11, 2024, together with Tarrant City Magistrate Tanilya Jackson. The complaint accused Chief Major of sex discrimination, retaliation, and fostering a hostile work environment through bullying and inappropriate communications.²

Crosby’s core claim was that in 2023 she walked up on inappropriate material displayed on Major’s computer screen. According to the complaint, she “expressed her shock and disgust” and left. Shortly afterward, she said, Major retaliated by demoting her from detective to patrol officer.¹

Major denied everything and framed the suit as political. “They contend I’ve done something to them, and nobody has ever offered any proof or evidence of that,” he said.¹

What the Settlement Requires

Tarrant leaders approved the confidential settlement in October 2025, during the final weeks of then-Mayor Wayman Newton’s administration. The $110,000 was paid by the city’s municipal insurer. Crosby received $55,000, and her attorneys at Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher & Goldfarb received the other $55,000.¹

The defining term is the “goodbye forever” clause. Under the agreement, Crosby’s employment relationship with Tarrant is “permanently and irrevocably severed.” She is explicitly barred from reapplying for or otherwise seeking any future position with the city, and Tarrant has no obligation to hire or consider her.³ Neither the city nor Major admitted liability; both continued to dispute Crosby’s allegations as part of the deal.¹

What the Settlement Did Not Resolve

The agreement closed Crosby’s case, but it did not touch Major’s job. He remains Tarrant’s police chief. A November 17, 2025 city council vote on retaining him went 2-3-1 against retention, with Councilman Tommy Bryant and new Mayor Tracie Threadford voting to keep him, Charles Johnson, Bruce Cooper, and Valarie McClellan voting no, and Deborah Matthews abstaining.⁴ Even so, Major’s attorney Scott Morro argued the city could not terminate a classified employee without cause and the formal process required by the Jefferson County Personnel Board, and that any termination “would be subject to an appeal to personnel board, circuit court and so forth.”⁵ In March 2026, Tarrant ended its search for a replacement, and Major stayed on.⁶

The settlement also did not resolve Jackson’s claims. Her allegations, which included that Major interfered with her magistrate work after she declined his lunch invitations and that he reported her to child welfare authorities over an incident involving her son (an accusation the Alabama Department of Human Resources later cleared), were part of the original complaint, but she dropped her claims from the suit. The available reporting does not indicate she reached any separate resolution.²

Separately from the Crosby suit, an independent investigation commissioned by the city and made public in May 2024 reported that every department employee interviewed described a “tense and stressful work environment, primarily created by Chief Major,” and documented three EEOC complaints by department employees alleging sex discrimination, racial discrimination, and retaliation. None of that was adjudicated in the Crosby settlement.²