For Lieutenant Meghan Pope of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department choosing a law enforcement career was logical. She simply followed in the footsteps of her father and brother.

“I saw the positive impact in the community that my father and brother both made in their law enforcement careers and wanted to follow in their footsteps to continue that legacy and help make a difference,” Pope says.

But the career comes with challenges, including when she had to face the loss of John Anderson, a close friend she remembers as “an extraordinary officer.”

Pope’s desire to help people led her to her favorite assignment—a juvenile sexual assault detective with the department’s Youth Services Unit. She says that made her feel like she provided a voice for juvenile victims and she was able to help navigate them toward a safer and brighter future by locking up the criminals who had hurt them.

“I felt like I was able to make the most impact in my community, investigating serious crimes against juveniles,” Pope says.

Even though she has received a handful of Chief Coins and Officer of the Month Awards, Pope considers responding to the 2020 Nashville tornado as one of her greatest achievements. She was on duty the night the tornado struck and worked with her fellow officers to safely evacuate hundreds of families out of their homes and get them to a safer location.

“I was able to rescue a mother and her newborn out of a house where a roof collapsed in,” shares Pope. “I was also told by another citizen that I had saved their life and that I was their guardian angel.”

Now after seven years as an officer, Pope’s goal is to continue to develop and grow as both a leader and an officer to better serve her community and department.

“I have had the opportunity to work under and follow in the footsteps of some amazing leaders in our department. I hope that I am also able to pave the way for future leaders and officers to be able to provide the guidance to them that I have been given,” she says.