Lakeland residents call it the scandal. State investigators allege "serious shortcomings" and "moral bankruptcy. The city 35 miles east of Tampa was cast under a lurid national spotlight recently after a state report revealed up to 10 police officers had sex with a female crime analyst over the past seven years.
The on-and-off duty philandering happened in patrol cars, public offices, a church building and a cemetery. One sex act occurred in a parking lot after a slain officer's funeral, according to the June 25 report by State Attorney Jerry Hill. But the tone is less jovial in Lakeland. Hill wrote in his report that some of the sex acts might not have been consensual, while the crime analyst at the center of the scandal has gone public with a dark story of abuse.
Thus far, as the Lakeland Police Department conducts an internal investigation, one officer has resigned, one has retired and others have been placed on administrative leave or taken off law enforcement duties, Sgt. Gary Gross said. The analyst, year-old Sue Eberle, now on paid leave, hired a Palm Harbor labor lawyer who claims she was repeatedly victimized in a toxic workplace.
That's on top of surveillance video released in June showing a Lakeland officer telling a woman to lift her shirt and shake out her bra during a traffic stop. Lakeland โ home of Publix, the Detroit Tigers spring training and perhaps the world's largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in one place โ hasn't faced such infamy in memory, Mayor Gow Fields said.
Some residents now struggle to trust the department, which has about sworn officers. We can't unring this bell, but we can demonstrate some organizational maturity and do the right thing. At a recent City Commission meeting, Womack โ who became chief two years ago โ said the police force is committed to restoring the community's trust. Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? But we all feel embarrassed by it. Some community leaders say the internal investigation โ as well as a complete standards and cultural overhaul โ should be passed to outside help.
