LAKE HAMILTON, Fla. (AP) - The Polk County State Attorney says the Lake Hamilton Police Department is unable to investigate serious crimes because of incompetent officers, poor training and a lack of leadership.
The Ledger reports (https://bit.ly/1FZb4VM ) that a state attorney’s investigation about the small city’s police force was released Wednesday.
Prosecutors were “horrified” to learn that a lieutenant made a misdemeanor case of a violent child abuse crime. That officer is no longer on the force.
Other allegations included a botched a sexual battery investigation involving a 16-year-old girl because the sergeant didn’t obtain a sexual assault kit. Prosecutors also said the department mishandled a suicide investigation by not following standard procedure of treating it as a homicide.
It also described the agency’s evidence storage as slapdash.
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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), https://www.theledger.com
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