A months-long academic cheating investigation has roiled the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, prompting the departures of six top brass.
Why it matters: “The public’s trust depends on the confidence that we are honest, transparent and willing to hold ourselves accountable when we fall short,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said Monday during a news conference.
- “These actions represent a lapse in judgment and a breach of the higher professional and ethical standards that law enforcement must hold ourselves to.”
State of play: An internal investigation found that six members of the sheriff’s command staff had a man named Robert Roush complete academic assignments for them, Chronister said.
- Chief Deputy Anthony Collins, Cols. Michael Hannaford and Chris Rule, and Capt. Lora Rivera resigned while under investigation.
- Chronister fired two more captains, Zuleydis Stearns and Marvin Johnson, in connection with the dishonesty probe. Several colonels, majors and captains were promoted or moved to fill the vacancies.
- The sheriff said Monday he was “not aware of” any other members who used Roush.
Flashback: The investigation began in July with an email from Collins’ wife alleging that Roush had helped Collins complete coursework for the elite FBI National Academy, the Tampa Bay Times first reported.
- Collins, who resigned later that month, had just been promoted to the post four months prior, making him the highest-ranking Black deputy in agency history.
- He was also seen as a possible successor to Chronister. “I’m heartbroken,” the sheriff said in August.
- The revelations “devastated” Black residents who had hoped for Collins’ continued rise, NAACP Hillsborough chapter president Yvette Lewis told the Times.
From there, the agency launched an internal inquiry that revealed more agency leaders had sought Roush’s help on work-related projects and coursework for various policing classes.
- Along with Collins, three more employees took Chronister up on his offer to resign.
- The sheriff fired the two remaining captains after internal investigators “assured me that there was no evidence presented to the contrary of these allegations,” he said Monday.
The other side: Of the ex-employees, only Collins has responded publicly to the allegations.
- Collins told the Times in August that he had paid Roush to tutor him and edit his assignments. He denied that Roush had completed the work.
- Roush, who lives in New Hampshire but previously resided in Wesley Chapel, echoed that explanation and called the cheating allegations “unfortunate” and “completely untrue,” per the Times.
Yes, but: Chronister said Collins admitted to him that Roush had written half of his FBI National Academy papers for him…