2 Fruitland Park officers off the job following FBI investigation into alleged KKK involvement
5:28 p.m. Saturday, July 12, 2014
VIDEO - local news. FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. —
Two Fruitland Park police officers are off the job following FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports that they were members of a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
Deputy Police Chief David Borst resigned Thursday, and Cpl. George Hunnewell was fired Friday.
Police Chief Terry Isaacs said an FBI confidential source revealed two officers from his department were members of the KKK. Isaacs called the allegations “despicable and disgusting.”
He said there was no proof or documentation the men were members, aside from information from the source.
Because it's not criminal to be in the KKK, the FBI turned over the investigation to the FDLE to look into the standards and ethics policies to see what action should be taken.
FDLE officials also agreed it was not criminal and referred the case to the chief.
On Friday, Isaacs began preparing an internal investigation and put the men on administrative leave.
But when Borst was called into the chief's office, Borst immediately resigned and denied everything.
Borst was a veteran officer with more than 20 years of law enforcement service.
The chief asked the city manager for approval to fire Hunnewell based on a review of Hunnewell's record with the police department.
Hunnewell has been demoted, and faced counseling and disciplinary action in the past.
The FBI assured the chief that there were no other officers involved.
Both officers names surfaced as part of an international probe being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The nature of the investigation was not immediately known.
At this time, the officers will keep their law enforcement certification.
In 2009, former Fruitland Park officer James Elkins resigned after admitting to Channel 9 that he was a local KKK leader.
Pictures surfaced of Elkins in KKK gowns and hoods with his hand on his gun.
A KKK leader suddenly disappeared. His body was found by a river a few days later, police say. Fliers for the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
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