Bosses unaware in police scandal

 BRADENTON -- Two Bradenton police supervisors did not know that officers they oversaw were having sex with prostitutes while on duty, according to an internal review released this week.

The supervisors, Lt. Darrell Akemon and Sgt. Troy Ball, are "not responsible for the inappropriate actions" of three former officers, who resigned in the summer amid a growing scandal.

At the time, Bradenton administrators said they would investigate claims by a prostitute, Dawn Marie Gibson, that Akemon and Ball were told of the relationships.

The report concludes that they were not.

While it backs both men, the review also indicates that there were some "supervision and management" failures of the Safe Streets Unit, the now-disbanded division that investigated drug dealers and prostitutes along Tamiami Trail.

For example, the report notes there were early rumors that one of the three officers, Larry Pritchett, may have been involved with a different prostitute in the summer of 2005.

In that case, Safe Streets officers were doing an undercover sting near Tamiami Trail and were about to arrest a known prostitute.

When Pritchett was called for backup, he refused to show up. One of his colleagues, who felt that Pritchett left them in a potentially dangerous situation, complained to Ball and Akemon.

Akemon questioned Pritchett about his involvement with the woman. Pritchett denied any intimate relationship, and said he and the woman were simply friends.

The review says that Akemon had no reason to believe there was anything inappropriate about the relationship, but it indicates he did not do enough to document the initial complaint.

The report brings closure to the scandal, which embarrassed the department. Most of the officers and supervisors in the Safe Streets Unit have moved on, and administrators hope that the internal review will be the final chapter for the scandal.

"I think," Maj. William Tokajer said on Thursday, "that we can finally put this whole thing behind us. As a department, it's time to move on."

link