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Haines City Police Chief Resigns, Captain Arrested

Haines City Police Department

Haines City police Capt. Mervin Stewart is taken into custody today on felony perjury charges.

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By RAY REYES and JENNIFER LEIGH

rreyes@tampatrib.com and jleigh@wfla.com

Published: November 13, 2008

Updated: 11/13/2008 08:21 pm

Related Links

• Read The Stewart Indictment
• Read The Grand Jury's Findings
• Read West's Settlement
• Cops In Trouble

  Morris West

HAINES CITY - A grand jury probe into the Haines City Police Department has found that the top two men in charge used their rank and standing in the community to brazenly violate law enforcement ethics policies.

Police Chief Morris West has resigned and Capt. Mervin Stewart was arrested today on charges of felony perjury, according to the Polk County State Attorney's Office. Stewart was released from Polk County Jail today after posting $50,000 bail.

West was suspended indefinitely with pay in October after the grand jury indicted him on three counts of soliciting prostitution, all misdemeanors. He has also agreed to give up his police certification, which means he will never be allowed to work in law enforcement in the state of Florida.

Stewart was suspended this week as part of the grand jury investigation. He is accused of lying about a sexual relationship he had with a female officer under his command, said Chip Thullberry, spokesman for the state attorney's office.

"Having followed the process closely, I'm not at all surprised at the grand jury's findings and recommendations," state attorney Jerry Hill said.

West's "long-standing ties to the community, the ties of both friendship and family" came before his "commitment to upholding the law and supporting his officers," according to the grand jury's findings, which were filed today in Polk County's 10th Judicial Court.

West has ordered officers not to arrest people the chief considered friends, the document states. On July 23, West's sister was involved in a single-vehicle crash outside of the jurisdiction of Haines City police and West told an officer to write a report but not issue her a ticket, the grand jury said.

West, who grew up in Haines City and worked for the department for 17 years, also allowed a trainee officer to "function as a fully sworn officer based upon friendships" the chief had with the trainee's family, court documents show.

The trainee was issued a firearm and acted on his own despite regulations that trainee officers must ride with fully sworn officers who will supervise them in the field, according to the grand jury's findings.

Stewart "had a checkered law enforcement career" that included paying a prostitute at least eight times for sexual acts while he was dressed in full uniform and refusing to answer questions during an internal affairs investigation about his relationship with a female officer, an act that was grounds for dismissal, according to the grand jury.

Instead, West promoted Stewart to captain this year.

West's actions wasted "all of the years of hard work and taxpayer money" that his predecessor, Thomas Wheeler, used to ensure and maintain full accreditation for the department, court records show.

The agency is "no longer accredited by any organization, state or national," according to the grand jury. "Accountability is gone . . . officers have no role models to follow."

"Officer morale is almost non-existent at this time," the grand jury's findings state. While officers and employees of the department have done good work, "it is the actions of their leaders which have brought shame upon their agency."

In a resignation letter sent to City Manager Ann Toney-Deal on Wednesday, West wrote that "the time has arrived for me to pursue other endeavors" and that his resignation does not "indicate any guilt of any alleged crime."

"I am thankful for the opportunity to have humbly served the citizens of this great city with loyalty, respect and dignity," West wrote.

Haines City is located in east Polk County, about 20 miles east of Lakeland. Haines City's police department has 42 sworn officers and 17 civilian employees, according to its Web site.

Today, the site still featured a welcome message from West that told visitors his agency "will aggressively enforce the law, but we will always be professional and courteous to our citizens in doing so."

News Channel 8 reporter Lynn Carson contributed to this report. Tribune reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920. News Channel 8 reporter Jennifer Leigh can be reached at (863) 284-1418.

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