Image Credit: Metropolitan Nashville Police Department / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
An internal investigation has found no evidence of wrongdoing by Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, despite allegations of professional misconduct in his relationship with another city employee.
Drake was accused of engaging in sex with during the workday with Watechia Lawless-Mitchell, a woman he was dating who also worked for Metro Nashville but did not work for MNPD.
The accusations came after Lawless-Mitchell’s ex-husband Mario Mitchell was arrested on April 5 in North Carolina on charges of stalking her.
Mitchell also claimed that his arrest was influenced by the relationship between Drake and his ex-wife. Lawless-Mitchell had appeared in court on April 1 with claims that Mitchell had threatened to kill her and had also stolen her phone in order to obtain private texts between her and Chief Drake.
The internal investigation, led by the Office of Professional Accountability, determined that the claims made by Mitchell were unsubstantiated. There was no evidence showing that the chief had ever engaged in an intimate relationship during work hours or on Metro property, including an unmarked police car as Mitchell had claimed.
The 26-page report, submitted by MNPD Lt. Jerry Hertenstein, read, “In some instances, the text messages actually seemed to contradict Mario Mitchell’s claims.”
Hertenstein noted that the allegations were made after Lawless-Mitchell filed for an order of protection against her ex-husband on May 5. He also stated that Mitchell attempted to use the stolen texts in an attempt to negotiate division of property in the couple’s “bitter” divorce.
The relationship between Drake and Lawless-Mitchell only lasted about three months, according to the report.
