FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. – A police officer and the deputy chief of police are no longer with the Fruitland Park Police Department after both were linked to involvement with the Ku Klux Klan, the police chief said.
Chief Terry Isaacs said an un-related investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered the possible ties between Deputy Chief David Borst and Officer George Hunnewell and the white supremacist organization.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesperson Chantal Hauser said the FBI informed her organization of the findings, and in turn, the FDLE contacted Fruitland Park Police Chief Terry Isaacs to let him handle the situation.
Isaacs said Borst denied any involvement with the Klan, despite an informant telling the FBI he was involved from 2005-2009. Borst resigned his position with the department Thursday.
Isaacs said the department investigated Hunnewell more closely since there were three informants that linked him to the Klan during the same time period.
Hunnewell was fired Friday.
As a result of the investigation, each arrest both officers made over their tenure with the department is now being reviewed by the Lake County Office of the State Attorney. The review will determine if any kind of racial profiling was part of the arrest process.
"The city of Fruitland Park is a diverse, tolerant, welcoming community," said City Manager Gary La Venia in a prepared statement. "We cannot, nor will we tolerate any philosophy that is inherently morally corrupt, one that espouses bigotry, or intolerance aimed toward any groups or individuals because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation, or even the appearance of such in our ranks."