Allegations against Bradenton officers demand state's scrutiny

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement needs to conduct a full investigation into allegations of misconduct by officers in the Bradenton Police Department's street crimes unit.

As the Herald-Tribune's Anthony Cor-mier and Michael Scarcella reported Saturday, three officers have resigned in recent weeks amid questions about their dealings with 30-year-old Dawn Marie Gibson.

Gibson, an admitted prostitute and drug addict, said she had sex on numerous occasions with the officers in a patrol car, in alleys and in a substation on 14th Street West. In exchange, she said, the officers gave her crack cocaine and money and offered to protect her and her friends from arrest.

Police Chief Michael Radzilowski confirmed that the department's internal affairs division has interviewed Gibson. He said that some of her statements appear to be true but that others have been proved false. The investigation is continuing.

A local defense attorney, meanwhile, is questioning the credibility of testimony by one of the officers in a recent drug case and is pushing for the release of details of the investigation. A court hearing on the attorney's challenge is scheduled for later this month.

Once the investigation is complete, Rad-zilowski said, the findings will be forwarded to the FDLE and the state attorney's office for review. If the results indicate possible misconduct, criminal charges may be considered, along with steps to revoke law-enforcement certification of the officers.

FDLE officials need to ensure that the city's report receives far more than a cursory review at the state level.

Radzilowski said he believes the scope of the investigation is limited to the three officers who resigned. Perhaps he's right.

But his department -- and the FDLE --need to go to extra lengths to determine if other officers engaged in similar behavior and if supervisors were aware of any misconduct that may have occurred.

If the investigation isn't comprehensive, a cloud of suspicion will continue to hang over the department. That's not in the best interests of public safety, or fair to police officers in the department who have conscientiously honored the community's trust.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070717/OPINION/707170422/1030