Police: Tampa lieutenant fired for lying

A Tampa police lieutenant was fired today after his marital issues snowballed into allegations of insubordination and lying to internal affairs investigators and on an affidavit alleging racial discrimination within the department, police say.

Lt. Dwayne "D.J." Johnson, a 15-year veteran of the department, will appeal his termination, his attorney said.

"We definitely are filing a grievance," Tampa lawyer Jeff Stull said. "But the content of that grievance has not been decided upon."

Stull said he has 14 days to file the appeal.

"I can say that we're disappointed with the decision of the Tampa Police Department," he said.

According to police documents, Johnson came under scrutiny last year after he sought an injunction against his wife and wanted police to arrest her. When officers said they would investigate but needed to look into his accusations, he became upset, yelled and stormed out.

Johnson's wife told police her husband was bipolar and off his medication. She also sought a domestic violence injunction against him, and on March 7, 2008, he surrendered all his personal firearms to Hillsborough County deputies, documents state.

He turned over his police weapons to the department and was referred for a psychiatric evaluation, which took place March 10, 2008.

When the doctor explained what would happen during the examination, including the signing of release forms, tests and an interview, Johnson refused to sign the release forms, according to a notice of disciplinary action.

Ultimately, police Capt. Salvatore Ruggiero told Johnson that, "per the chief of police, you are to sign these releases and participate in this examination and give your full cooperation."

Johnson eventually complied but didn't escape a one-day suspension for the insubordination, records show.

In March 2008, Johnson, 42, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In an affidavit, he said he was being racially discriminated against and that he had been suspended and sent for a psychiatric evaluation for no reason.

According to the internal affairs report, Johnson did not mention on the affidavit that the order to surrender his firearms came from a judge after his ex-wife had filed the injunction.

Instead, the report states, Johnson said the city "suddenly suspended me, took away my weapon and sent me to a psychologist for a fitness for duty evaluation."

Assistant Police Chief John Bennett said Johnson specifically was fired for being untruthful on the EEOC affidavit and during a subsequent administrative hearing within the department.

Although Johnson could have been charged with perjury over the EEOC affidavit, Bennett said, officials decided to handle the matter within the department. He said he was unsure of the status of the EEOC case.