Nashville Police Chief John Drake has spent much of his career trying to steer young people away from crime. Inspired by mentors who helped him as a young man, Drake has tried to pay it forward.
But sadly, he was unable to keep his own son out of trouble.
John C. Drake Jr., 38, stands accused of shooting two police officers outside of a Dollar General store in the nearby city of La Vergne on Saturday afternoon. He was still the subject of a manhunt on Monday, and police said they consider him to be armed and dangerous.
Officers Ashely Boleyjack and Gregory Kern were investigating a stolen vehicle outside the store when they struggled with the suspect, who pulled a handgun and shot them, said La Vergne Police Chief Christopher Moews. Both officers were treated and released from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Chief Drake issued a statement Saturday confirming his son was the suspect in the shooting. Drake said he was estranged from his son and had only minimal contact with him for many years. The younger Drake is a convicted felon who “resorted to years of criminal activity,” he said.
The elder Drake grew up in a working class area of Nashville where he credits several mentors, including coaches and a neighbor, with helping him become a success. In a video made by the police department where he speaks about his early life, Drake said that as a young man he “could have gone either way. I walked to school with three other kids … and all three wound up going to prison.”
The experience with those early role models “led me to want to help other people, too,” he said.
Drake has been particularly interested in using the police force as a vehicle for keeping young people out of trouble. As an officer, he worked for 15 years with the Police Athletic League “helping kids, building kids, building their relationships. Working on some of their environmental factors by having coaches as mentors,” he said in 2020 during an interview for the job of police chief. Some of those kids today are playing pro sports or working as teachers and principals, he said.
Drake, who was already interim chief at the time, said he abolished the so-called “flex teams” that worked as crime suppression units and utilized tactics like stopping people for minor traffic infractions.
“I wanted to get away from the warrior mentality, to the guardian,” he said. “We are here to help you. We want to have movie night with you. We want to have ice cream day. We want to tutor you and get to know your family.”
Drake told his officers to walk the communities and get to know people. He wanted them “getting in those neighborhoods — walking, talking, playing basketball,” he said. “Also look at tutoring kids. How do we impact them at an early stage?”
The chief did not immediately respond to a request for an interview by The Associated Press.
