NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake is now under investigation by his own department.
Chief Drake is accused of having a sexual relationship with a woman on company time.
The chief apparently had a relationship last year with a woman. There's nothing unusual or surprising about that. By all accounts, it was a consensual relationship between two consenting adults. The chief is not married. And the woman does not work for the police department.
But the reason we are here telling you about this is that there are allegations that the two spent time together during work hours. And that some alleged sexual encounters happened at the Metro Nashville Police Department Headquarters on Murfreesboro Road.
A Metro Police spokesperson told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that this is "currently under investigation by the Office of Professional Accountability." That's the police department's internal affairs office that looks into complaints of misconduct against members of the MNPD.
The police spokesperson also told us that Chief Drake had no statement or anything to say on the matter, but that he is cooperating with the department's investigation.
We know investigators will look at text messages allegedly between Chief Drake and the woman. NewsChannel 5 Investigates has obtained some of these messages. And we are still working to authenticate them before we share them and their contents.
We are also not identifying the woman in the relationship at this point. While she is a Metro employee, she does not work for the police department. And we are still trying to determine whether any of the encounters happened while she was supposed to be on the job.
According to a police report given to us by Metro Police, the woman at the center of this has claimed her ex-husband got the texts from her phone and threatened to use them to embarrass her. So, she went to the police.
Now the ex-husband has been charged with aggravated stalking and is due in court Thursday.
