Sue Eberle - Woman At Center Of Police Sex Scandal Fired

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- A Lakeland Police Department crime analyst at the center of a widespread sexual misconduct case has been fired.

Sue Eberle was fired Wednesday in the agency's latest round of discipline.

The Ledger of Lakeland (http://bit.ly/17SpMdV) reports that Police Chief Lisa Womack detailed the punishment, and the weeks of investigation that preceded it, in a meeting with the Lakeland Police Advisory Commission. The commission is made up of volunteers tasked with reviewing a multitude of problems at the agency and recommending reforms.

Eberle's lawyer, David Linesch of Palm Harbor said after the meeting that he's disappointed the city chose to "re-victimize" Eberle by firing her.

Eberle told investigators she was coerced into some sex acts.

The disciplinary action brings an end to a sprawling investigation into the misconduct.

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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), http://www.theledger.com

Associated Press Release

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- Lakeland's police chief and the Polk County State Attorney will meet to discuss the troubled Lakeland Police Department, where a widespread investigation into a sex scandal is underway.

The Lakeland Ledger (http://bit.ly/133NfSF) reports that Chief Lisa Womack and State Attorney Jerry Hill will meet Friday.

The meeting comes after two city commissioners urged Womack to talk with Hill after he hand-delivered a scathing letter to her about the department on June 25.

The report detailed dozens of consensual and multiple forced sexual encounters involving more than 20 LPD officers and city employees. The report was based on investigations by the State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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Associated Press Release
By: TAMARA LUSH

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- Nearly a dozen police officers in Lakeland are under investigation after state and local officials uncovered a widespread sex scandal that has unfolded over eight years.

According to officials, the investigation centers on Sue Eberle, a Lakeland Police crime analyst who says she had consensual and sometimes coerced sex with police officers and one firefighter -- and was propositioned by a municipal worker. Eberle's accounts of the liaisons were largely corroborated by her sexual partners and others within the police department, and published in a 59-page report from the county's top prosecutor.

The state attorney says he can't prosecute the cases because of a lack of physical evidence and because of how much time has passed since some of the encounters. However, Lakeland's mayor says the officers and employees involved are under an internal investigation.