A decommissioned police officer was booked Friday on a 12-count grand jury indictment that charges him with sex crimes while on duty.
Jeffrey Poole, 39, has been charged with four counts of rape, four counts of official misconduct, two counts of sexual battery, one count of patronizing prostitution and one count of attempting to patronize prostitution.
Metro police said the investigation began when a known prostitute said Poole patted her down to the point of fondling her while he was on duty and in uniform just south of downtown Nashville. He seemed to make verbal propositions, and she rejected his advances, police said.
Sex Crimes Detective Heather Baltz interviewed three other women who said they had sexual contact with Poole last year while he was on duty and in uniform:
* A 20-year-old woman said Poole arrested her on an outstanding warrant, drove to a secluded area and fondled her under the pretext of a search. Police said the woman told Poole to take her to jail, which he did after giving the woman his phone number and offering her a ride home upon her release.
* A 30-year-old woman said that Poole drove her in his police car to an empty lot and paid her for consensual sexual acts.
* A 35-year-old woman said that Pool raped her in her Dickerson Pike motel room while he was on duty and in uniform.
Three of the four women have histories of prostitution, police said.
"This is a very serious criminal matter highlighted by a betrayal of the trust conveyed to Poole by this Police Department and the citizens we serve," Chief Steve Anderson said Friday in a news release. "The conduct alleged here is absolutely intolerable and is not a reflection of the good work being done every day by our 1,800 officers and professional support staff members."
Metro police said Poole graduated from the police academy in March 2008 and worked in the East Precinct from July 2008 to January 2010. At that point, he transferred to the South Precinct.
Based on the Sex Crimes Unit's investigation, he was decommissioned May 18 and ordered to keep away from Police Department facilities.
Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn set Poole's bond at $200,000.
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Poole's MS: http://www.myspace.com/124989494