Natalie Neysa Alund

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

A Metro police lieutenant has been indicted on felony forgery charges, authorities said Tuesday.

Ada M. Thaxter, who has been with the department for nearly 14 years, turned herself in on the charges Tuesday morning and was booked into the Metro jail late Tuesday morning, said Ken Whitehouse, spokesman for the Nashville District Attorney General.

Thaxter, 49, is charged with two counts of forgery which carries a maximum of 2 years in prison.

Authorities said Thaxter forged letters claiming to be Sgt. Danny Hale, the Fraternal Order of Police president, and reportedly spread false information about other people in the department. The letters dated Jan. 1 and Jan. 6 disparaged members of the Metro police department and were sent by mail to several people, including members of the media, Metro police said in a news release.

Hale made a formal complaint to the police department's fraud unit to investigate and the FBI also got involved. The Metro crime lab found evidence that linked Thaxter to the letters, which recently was presented to a Davidson County Grand Jury, police said.

The second letter's Jan. 6 date coincides with the day Thaxter began serving an eight-day suspension for harassment and inefficient or deficient performance of duties, police said. She went on medical leave after the suspension, and told the department on May 5 that she was relinquishing her position on May 17 for "medical retirement."

She also is the subject of an Office of Professional Accountability investigation on truthfulness, but it is ongoing due to Thaxter's medical leave status, police said.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072. Follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.