Former Metro Nashville police officer accused of sexual activity on duty, in middle school

A former Metro Nashville Police Department officer resigned after an internal investigation found what officials described as overwhelming evidence that she engaged in sexual activity with another officer while both were on duty, including inside a middle school where children were present in the building.

WKRN News 2 reporter Andy Cordan said the investigation centered on former Officer Lisa Vidrios, 37, who had served as a school resource officer at Madison Middle School, and an unnamed male officer who had worked for the department for 18 years.

According to an investigative summary from the department’s Office of Professional Accountability, the two officers had multiple sexual encounters in Vidrios’ school office and inside a police vehicle.

Vidrios admitted to policy violations, accepted a 30-day suspension, and later resigned from the force. The male officer was also removed from police duties but had not been interviewed because he went on medical leave and later received an injured-on-duty pension.

A Promising Officer With a Military Background

Cordan contrasted the allegations with Vidrios’ earlier public image as a promising officer selected to represent her 2022 graduating class at the Metro Police Training Academy.

In a department video featured in the report, Vidrios said she had transferred to Nashville from the San Diego Police Department after serving nine years in the United States Marine Corps.

She also spoke about moving to the city with her husband, who had joined the Metro Nashville Police Department as well, and their three young children.

“We love spending time as a family and doing everything we can throughout the city of Nashville,” Vidrios said in the earlier recording.

The department’s decision to feature her suggested that officials viewed her as an example of the experience and values they wanted associated with a new academy class.

That background makes the later findings especially damaging, not because military or police service makes misconduct impossible, but because school resource officers are placed in positions requiring unusually high levels of judgment and trust.

They work in buildings filled with children and are expected to provide safety, stability, and a professional example during the entire school day.

Report Describes Multiple Encounters at the School

According to the internal report obtained by News 2, the relationship between Vidrios and the male officer began in May 2025.

Investigators said the pair engaged in sexual activity several times while on duty and in different locations connected with their police work.

The most serious allegations involved Vidrios’ school resource officer office at Madison Middle School.

Cordan reported that Vidrios’ phone contained footage showing the two officers having sex on a couch inside the office while school staff could be heard speaking outside the door.

The report said the pair had sexual relations inside the school four times.

Vidrios acknowledged in a written statement to investigators that children were inside the building during those encounters.

There was no allegation that students or school employees directly witnessed or participated in the conduct, and Metro Nashville Public Schools said no students or staff members were aware of what was happening at the time.

Even so, using a school office for sexual activity during working hours represents an extraordinary failure of judgment.

The fact that children were nearby makes the setting more troubling, even if the door remained closed and no student entered the room.

Police Vehicle Was Also Allegedly Used

Investigators also found video showing Vidrios and the other officer engaging in sexual activity inside the male officer’s police vehicle, according to Cordan.

Vidrios told the Office of Professional Accountability that the pair had sex in the vehicle twice.

At least one of those encounters allegedly occurred in the parking lot of an abandoned hospital.

Police vehicles are public equipment assigned for law enforcement duties, not private spaces for personal conduct.

Misusing one in this way creates obvious questions about whether either officer was available to answer calls, respond to emergencies, or complete the work taxpayers were paying them to perform.

The internal findings accused Vidrios not only of conduct unbecoming a department employee but also of failing to devote her entire working time to duty.

Those violations describe the case more accurately than treating it simply as a private affair between adults.

The central issue for the department was where and when the conduct occurred, along with the misuse of public property and a school office.

Department Says Evidence Was Overwhelming

The Office of Professional Accountability said its conclusions were supported by videos, photographs, text-message exchanges, and Vidrios’ own admission.

Cordan reported that investigators described the evidence of sexual activity inside a Metro Police building and police car as overwhelming.

The department learned about the allegations on May 26, 2025.

Metro Nashville police said both Vidrios and the male officer were immediately decommissioned and removed from all police access that same day.

That action meant they no longer had authority to carry out police duties or use department systems and equipment while the allegations were examined.

Vidrios later agreed to a pre-investigative settlement addressing the policy violations, which was approved in September 2025.

She accepted a suspension of approximately 30 days and then resigned.

Her resignation ended her employment with the department, but it did not erase the findings or the questions raised by conduct that allegedly continued across several locations.

Male Officer Was Not Interviewed

The unnamed male officer had been with the department for 18 years and was most recently assigned to the tactical operations section.

Investigators had not interviewed him at the time of the report.

According to the OPA summary, he was on medical leave while the investigation was underway and later applied for an injured-on-duty pension.

That pension was approved on February 26, 2026, preventing investigators from conducting the planned interview before he left active service.

The internal report said he would be questioned if he returned to duty.

That leaves the investigation incomplete in an important respect.

Vidrios admitted wrongdoing and faced a formal disciplinary agreement, while the second officer’s account had not been obtained through the same internal process.

Medical leave and pension rules may have limited what investigators could do, but the public is still left without a full explanation of whether he faced any comparable consequences beyond being decommissioned.

The lack of an interview does not disprove the evidence described in the report, though it means only one accused officer’s formal account was included.

Mayor’s Office Says Conduct Was Unacceptable

News 2 contacted Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office for a response.

A spokesperson said the mayor had been consistent that first responders must be held to the highest standards.

“When they don’t meet that, it’s not acceptable,” the statement said.

Metro Nashville Public Schools referred detailed questions to the police department but confirmed that no students or district staff members were involved in or aware of the situation.

The district also noted that Vidrios had been decommissioned for many months by the time the investigation became public.

Those statements address the immediate employment response, but the incident also raises broader questions about supervision and access inside school buildings.

A school resource officer may work with considerable independence, and private office space is often necessary for confidential conversations and reports.

That same privacy, however, depends on the officer respecting the boundaries of the role.

When those boundaries are ignored, the damage reaches beyond one employee because parents and school staff must still trust the next officer assigned to that position.

Resignation Does Not End the Need for Accountability

Vidrios is no longer employed by Metro Nashville police, and the second officer is no longer serving in an active capacity after receiving a medical pension.

Still, the case should not be reduced to an embarrassing workplace scandal.

The alleged conduct took place while officers were being paid to protect the public, inside government property and a school containing children.

There is no indication in Cordan’s report that students were placed in direct physical danger, but the officers were reportedly occupied with personal activity when they were supposed to be available for public safety duties.

That alone makes the case a serious matter of accountability.

The department acted quickly to decommission both officers once the allegations were reported, and the available evidence led Vidrios to accept responsibility for policy violations.

What remains less clear is whether the department will make broader changes, review supervision of school resource officers, or release further findings concerning the unnamed veteran officer.

The case presents an uncomfortable contrast between the image Vidrios once gave the public and the conduct described in the internal report.

She entered the department with military experience, previous police service, and the confidence of academy leaders.

A few years later, she left after admitting to behavior that the mayor’s office called unacceptable and that investigators said occurred repeatedly while children and staff were nearby.

For the community, the lasting concern is not the private relationship itself, but the misuse of authority, time, and public spaces by officers entrusted to act professionally when no one appeared to be watching.