NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct are just some of the reasons why Metro Nashville Police said former officer Sean Herman was already on his "last chance" before he was fired.
Herman was arrested Thursday morning — one month after police say they discovered an OnlyFans video where he appeared to grope a woman as part of a fake traffic stop. NewsChannel 5 Investigates later learned the video was Herman's idea.
I break down what is happening with this story in the player above.
The patch on Herman's shoulder was only on camera for a fraction of a second, but that was all it took for people to notice how closely it resembled the Metro Nashville logo.
Police fired Herman less than one day after spotting the video on Reddit and identifying him as the officer, but they later said that he was already in jeopardy of losing his job.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates obtained a copy of Herman's personnel record, which showed a series of crashes caused by poor decisions behind the wheel. We also found accusations of sexual harassment.
Records showed that last year, Herman signed a "Last Chance Agreement" to keep his job after police said he created "an offensive work environment for a coworker through sexual comments and actions."
Herman allegedly harassed a female officer by sending her explicit text messages hoping she would have sex with him.
"You're a cool chick, just a hot one haha so couldn't help wanting to see ya naked," one message read.
Herman and the female officer met with another male officer at a restaurant a few months later. According to records, the topic of Herman's ex-girlfriend came up. Herman then pulled out his personal phone and showed a nude photo of a female who he claimed was his girlfriend.
Both officers said they were shocked that Herman would show them a nude photo in a public restaurant while they were in uniform.
Later, when Herman and the female officer shared a squad car, she said Herman asked her to leave her phone in the car so he could "go through it to get pictures or nudes of her."
Herman allegedly told this female officer he wanted the photos for a file he had on his phone of other naked women. She says he also told her about his own OnlyFans account.
Investigators asked Herman about the account and he admitted to having one for six months where he posted one nude photo of himself.
Herman told investigators he didn't think it was important to disclose information about the account during his background check.
The female officer told investigators she tried denying Herman on multiple occasions through text, but admits she did not tell Herman to stop making comments while they shared a squad car out of fear of making things awkward.
She later explained how either way, she did not expect the sexual comments to stop even if she told Herman how they made her feel.
Investigators found Herman violated the department's policy on sexual harassment and gave him a 10-day suspension which they pulled from his vacation time.
Herman agreed to these terms which meant undergoing "respectful workplace training" and staying out of trouble for at least two years.
Less than one year later, not only is Herman out of a job, but he now faces two felony counts of official misconduct for actions while on duty.
Herman posted a $3,000 bond and was released from jail. He's now waiting on a court date that has not been set.
This is a developing story.
How this story came to be
The video — titled "Can't believe he didn't arrest me" — was originally posted by a woman named "Jordin" who was sitting in the driver’s seat. A man in the passenger seat is heard telling Jordin that he knew she would be pulled over for how fast she was driving.
The man pans the camera from the back windshield where a white squad car is seen. Jordin is then heard saying, “I’m not going to get a ticket…I’m going to show him my t**s.”
Moments later, an officer approaches the driver’s side door and identifies himself as “Officer Johnson of PD.” This was the video in question that resulted in Herman's firing. The video showed his police patch and his vehicle. NewsChannel 5 Investigates later learned he was on duty while creating the video.
He is then seen reaching into the car and groping Jordin’s breast before grabbing his genitals through his pants.
You can read the first part of this investigation by tapping this link.
