Lakeland Police Chief Lisa Womack has been under fire since The Ledger‘s investigation.
By Eric Barton
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
It began with simple records request. The Lakeland Police Department’s employees dragged their feet in response, and from there, the story snowballed.
Since then, several reporters and an editor from The Ledger in Lakeland have been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. The paper, reporting almost daily on the department’s troubles, reported on a growing sex scandal in the department and questionable “bra-shake” searches. Five officers have been fired or reassigned. The public has responded, with a crowd of 200-plus at a public meeting.
A team of reporters and editors can take credit for the work. Two of them, reporters Jeremy Maready and Matthew Pleasant, described their work in an email with the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
FCIR: How did you first get tipped off to the story?
Jeremy: The problems with the Lakeland Police Department are numerous and began over a year ago, with reporters trying, with much difficulty, to get public records and a chief that was unwilling to listen to criticism of the public information officer, who was her friend.
Fast forward to December. The records problems continued to persist, and now I was working on a story that questioned the investigative practices of the department in a particular shooting case. Some of the records I requested from the department I was told didn’t exist – although I had received them from another source. On other records, the department claimed the records were part of an ongoing case.
When questioned about this, the chief told me that while the department sometimes played a “cat and mouse” game when it comes to giving reporters records, she assured me that wasn’t the case in this instance.
Shortly after that, I and several other reporters (including Matt Pleasant) and an editor, received grand jury summons. In an unusual instance, we all provided testimony to the grand jury.
The grand jury returned weeks later with a presentment, which was sealed from public view, and the city has spent $218,000 in legal fees to keep it sealed. Although I received an official copy, I am prevented from disclosing its contents under court order. The sealing of the presentment has been challenged by the State Attorney’s Office and is awaiting a decision by the Second District Court of Appeal.
Since that time, we have been inundated with tips about incidents within the department, which have led to many other stories about how officers within the department have disregarded policy and caused problems with criminal prosecution.
Some of those findings have caused the State Attorney’s Office to throw out more than 40 DUI cases because an officers falsified paperwork and another officer provided inappropriate testimony that caused a nine-time convicted felon to get a five-year prison sentence instead of 20 years in a shooting case.
The State Attorney’s Office also has issued numerous letters telling the department it would no longer accept testimony from several of its officers.
And then there is the sex scandal, which broke this summer. I had heard rumblings months before and had the names of those involved, but because of a lack of documentation, we had to hold off on reporting the story sooner. Since we broke the story when the State Attorney’s Office report was released, our coverage has been non-stop.
Matthew: The problems came to light in a variety of ways. We’ve long had issues obtaining public records from Lakeland Police Department. This doesn’t just go for broader requests, but with police reports, the kind of basic document you use to put together a daily story. For a long time, the department PIO couldn’t put his or her hands on an arrest report, inexplicably, and would often refer us to other agencies for them. They have improved somewhat in the past month or so, but only after we’ve written stories about our difficulty getting records.
One of those stories detailed how the department withheld an arrest report in a high profile robbery case for the better part of two days. The same week, the police chief removed the department attorney from handling public records requests and announced the city had hired a retired appellate court judge to review its policies and procedures related to records, which is still ongoing.
We’re watching that review process as well. Last week, we published a story noting how much money the city had spent in lawyer fees on the review. It also pointed out that the police department has been asking people to identify themselves for decades when making records requests and documenting the information internally. The First Amendment Foundation criticized the practice, and the retired judge is now taking a look at it.
A story detailing the police department’s use of a search technique that requires women to shake out their bras actually began as a letter to the editor. After it ran, the State Attorney’s Office opened an investigation. As a result, we were able to break the news about a scathing letter the state attorney wrote to the department about the search technique. That turned out to be somewhat of an opening salvo in a series of letters the State Attorney’s Office has issued criticizing the department.
FCIR: In this era of reduced newsroom staffs and fewer resources, how did you handle the reporting of this piece with your regular duties?
Jeremy: Juggling other duties is always a challenge. Here at The Ledger, we are fortunate to have a dedicated investigative team, made up of myself, Reporter Rick Rousos, and Editor Lyle McBride. However, as the problems with the department continued to grow, and with the vast information we faced with the sexual misconduct scandal, two more reporters, Matt Pleasant and John Chambliss, also were assigned to cover only LPD stories.
Matthew: Before becoming a general assignment reporter for The Ledger, I worked for two years as the paper’s police reporter. I also worked for about three years at a small paper in South Louisiana. Those experiences have primed me to juggle stories. But most importantly, the editors see value in chasing these stories and have free us up from other obligations to pursue them.
FCIR: The fallout has been widespread, with five resignations, others reassigned or suspended, and 20 others implicated. Did you expect this kind of reaction?
Jeremy: We knew the sexual misconduct case would generate a lot of attention. While we weren’t the cause of this investigation, we knew much about the allegations and weren’t surprised when we had that confirmed. But what has fascinated me is how our readers aren’t forgetting about all of the other instances of LPD’s problems, including the public records issues, the DUI cases, the bra shaking incident and other internal cases that are ongoing.
Matthew: Most heartening is that readers seem to be delving into the details of the various problems and not just focusing on the most scandalous aspects. For instance, judging from our comment sections, our stories regarding public records issues seem to pique their interest almost as much as the ones about sexual misconduct.
We can’t take credit for all the community’s reaction, but the fact that The Ledger’s coverage gets discussed (both criticized and praised) at meetings shows that our work is contributing to the dialogue.
FCIR: The community’s reaction has been impressive, with more than 200 people showing up to a public meeting. What was it like to see that kind of reaction to your reporting?
Jeremy: The level of community involvement in this process has been encouraging. It’s not often that a story like this happens, and that it generates this level of community concern with a demand for action and change. From a reporter’s standpoint, it’s nice to see that people in the community care and want accountability.
FCIR: Big stories like this have been known to take over a reporter’s life. How did you handle the responsibility a story like this carries with your personal life?
Jeremy: Funny enough, Matt and I talked about this recently. The time stories like these take, the dedication you have to have and the calls at all hours of the day and night are hard for a significant other, who isn’t in the news business, to understand. But having a family that supports you and a significant other who understands your dedication is a big help. There are times when you just need a break and have to shut your brain off, which is easier said than done.
Matthew: We’ve all worked long hours covering these stories. And whether we’re at work or not, I think all of us constantly turn the various issues over in their minds, asking ourselves what questions to pursue next. So, yeah, it ends up taking over your life in some ways. Jeremy and I agree – having a good support network outside of work is key.
Because the story is always on my mind, writing down ideas and questions to pursue – and keeping them organized – helps get them out of the way so I can relax and return to them later. Basically, I keep a giant to-do list. There are a few good online tools for this, but my favorite is Workflowy. It allows you to build detailed lists for projects. I use it constantly throughout the day to keep track of what records requests I need to make, and what questions I need to get answered, etc.
FCIR: When the dust clears, what’s next for the two of you?
Jeremy: I’m going to Alaska at the end of August for a fishing trip with friends. I need a break. But when I come back, it’s back to digging. The break will be nice, but after a week away, I’ll be ready to get back to my digging.
Matthew: More stories. I don’t think this one is going anywhere for a while.