The Panhandle town of Crestview is looking for a new police chief. As Sascha Cordner reports, the city's mayor fired Police Chief Brian Mitchell Wednesday.
Mayor David Cadle says an ongoing investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement led to the indictment and arrest of former police Major Joseph Floyd. He’s been charged with racketeering for allegedly abusing and intimidating residents and officers, while working directly under former police chief Brian Mitchell. So, Cadle suspended both in March, and decided to conduct his own investigation into the department.
“As a result from that investigation, I came to the conclusion that I’d lost confidence in Chief Mitchell’s leadership ability and the cause of his lack of supervisory role over his subordinate that had caused a hostile workplace environment, and I felt the citizens of Crestview no longer felt confident over his leadership, and I felt it was time for a change.”
While Mitchell was terminated Wednesday, Floyd has not been with the department since weeks after his arrest in March, and has a trial date set for May 29th. Cadle says Police Major Ken Bundrick will act as the interim police chief.
