A veteran SWAT officer in Nashville, Stephen Holland, who is married, made public comments criticizing fellow officers for allegedly disgracing the badge, even as he faced an investigation into his own months-long affair with another married officer, Lisa Vidrios. The affair included sexual encounters inside a middle school and a police vehicle.
Holland, 43, is married to Tiffany Holland, a business development officer. The couple resides in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with their teenage daughter and younger son.
The investigation into the affair began in May of last year after Lisa Vidrios' husband, Metro Nashville Police officer Angel Vidrios, discovered explicit material on his wife's phone and reported it to supervisors. Both officers were subsequently stripped of their police powers. Lisa Vidrios admitted her involvement and resigned shortly after.
Investigators were initially unable to interview Holland as he was on medical leave for PTSD. However, three months after the investigation commenced, Holland participated in a three-hour podcast interview. During this interview, he discussed his spiritual journey and his belief that he had found God prior to the scandal becoming public. He also spoke critically of others in law enforcement.
"There are people in my profession who are pieces of s***. There are even people who are on SWAT teams," Holland stated on the Cleared Hot podcast, hosted by former Navy SEAL Andy Stumpf. "There’s some guys that have tainted the badge. There are some guys that don’t do police work for the right reason. Their hearts are not in it. But mine is. That’s why I’m in it. I’m just going to do the best I can."
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office issued a statement calling the conduct unacceptable for first responders. The scandal also brought renewed attention to the mental health challenges faced by first responders, a topic Holland has openly addressed.
Holland claimed that years on the SWAT team had led to PTSD, with trauma exacerbated by his response to the 2023 Covenant School massacre. He also disclosed a struggle with alcohol addiction, relying on various alcoholic beverages to sleep. He entered a residential treatment facility for first responders dealing with PTSD and addiction in June of the current year, approximately a month after the affair investigation began, and was released in mid-July.
During the podcast, Holland expressed concern about his potential return to the SWAT team and how colleagues might react. Stumpf offered support, suggesting that any judgment from peers would be unwarranted if they did not address their own issues.
Away from his police duties, Holland had cultivated a public persona through his apparel company, Righteous Tactics, which sells merchandise aimed at military and emergency workers. The brand's website features his discussions about struggles with PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts. "I’ve seen the toll critical incidents take on good people," Holland wrote on the company website. "By God’s grace, I got help in time. Being one of the fortunate ones put a conviction on my heart: pay it forward and talk about the hard stuff out loud."
Lisa Vidrios and her husband Angel had transferred to the Metro Nashville Police Department in 2022 from the San Diego Police Department, where they had both worked. They appeared in departmental videos highlighting their life as a police family with their three young children.
According to the Office of Professional Accountability report, Angel Vidrios became suspicious of his wife's behavior and found evidence suggesting an affair with Holland. He told investigators he confronted Holland in an attempt to end the relationship, but Holland reportedly refused. Angel Vidrios then provided investigators with messages, videos, and photographs from his wife's phone, initiating the internal investigation.