Today, another story was brought out in the Lakeland Ledger. Sgt. Lloyd resigned today. He was involved with my DUI case where I discovered blank DUI reports being sworn to as a regular practice at LPD. This resulted in over 40 Lakeland DUI cases being dismissed. At the time that story broke, other incidents were coming to light such as the bra-shaking searches conducted by LPD officers. You can read the story here:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20131108/NEWS/131109285/1358/news06?p=2&tc=pg&tc=ar
Another officer was part of the story. A DUI arrest made by Officer Tyler Anderson was outside the jurisdiction of LPD. This DUI case was eventually dismissed. This DUI arrest was the subject of newscasts months ago. However, it wasn't until very recently that LPD started investigating the incident. Why did it take so long for LPD to initiate an internal investigation? I understand that LPD has a lot of internal problems and issues to investigate, but it has been months and was prime time television news. That is why when The Ledger asked my thoughts on the panel LPD was putting together to conduct an internal investigation, I said it was useless in my opinion. Officers can not thoroughly investigate themselves because they think they are performing their duties correctly in the first place. That is why LPD needed to bring an experienced criminal defense attorney from another county or a criminal defense expert to investigate any problems or issues. Defense attorneys know what to look for and may cause problems with an arrest or criminal investigation. After all, it was defense attorneys that brought these problems to the public and law enforcement's attention.
If you have been arrested, call an experienced criminal trial attorney that will fight for you in court!
Thomas C. Grajek 863-688-4606