FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Interim police chief Dennis Eads is requesting that the Department of Justice perform a full internal audit of the Fort Myers Police Department in the shadow of a forged racial discrimination complaint in his name.
Chief Eads' request came after justice officials became curious as to why he would file a civil rights complaint against his own department.
A complaint was filed against Lieutenant William Musante -- with Eads' name on it -- and sent to the justice department back on March 8th. Attached to the complaint was a deposition from a lawsuit which was critical of Musante and the department.
But Eads tells Fox 4 that the complaint, which was filed with his signatures, was falsified. And he says he requested an internal audit to set the record straight. "I was mad that someone would do this. And I 'm sure we all know who did it. I'm sure that everyone knows the individual that did it and I 'm hoping we can find some kind of way to trace it back to that individual and prove it and do whatever we can lawfully do to incarcerate them. I don't know that it's someone within the departmnet, but I 'm sure it's someone we all know."
Meanwhile, Musante, who the complaint targets, has been with the Fort Myers Police Department for decades. He has faced multiple racist discriminations and allegations in the past, but was cleared by the department on each of them.
Justice officials haven't responded to Chief Eads' request yet. But if they do perform an internal audit, it would involve analyzing a variety of data, including policies and procedures, searches, and use of force.
