Gene Strickland In the News Again

I have written that Gene Strickland should have been fired from the Tampa Police Department. Strickland squad was disbanded after officer Martha Gearity came forward about sexual harrassment in the unit. Members of the unit were terminated. Strickland was demoted for knowingly letting the harrassment continue.

Strickland also manipulate traffic lights and did illegal searches of vechicles. Strickland has been suspended and reprimanded for shooting incidents. Now he has a restraining order issued against him.

A Lithia man has filed for a temporary restraining order against a Tampa police officer who the man says roughed up his 17-year-old son.

Donald Lunsford, 40, and Cpl. Gene Strickland, 51, live less than a quarter-mile from each other in Lithia. Court papers now order Strickland to stay 100 feet away from Lunsford and his son, Donnie, after Strickland put a Taser against the teenager's neck Oct. 2.

Strickland was off duty. He put on his gun belt on because outnumbered. The two teens were on a neighbor's property. The owner, Dorothy Link, did not ask Strickland to watch the property, his wife offered. She was surprised by Strickland's reaction.

"I didn't give him permission to arrest anyone," Link said.

It gets more bizarre. Strickland maintained to the teens and on the 911 tape that he wasn't making an arrest.

Donnie Lunsford can be heard yelling on the tape, "You take your job way too seriously."

Strickland replies, "I'm not doing my job. Right now I'm being a homeowner, brother."

Except it is not Strickland's home. His reasoning makes no sense.

How long are the Tampa Police Department tolerate this PR nightmare? He's trigger happy, disrespectful of women, violates the fourth amendment, been demoted and now has a restraining order. It is interesting how far the department will go to protect one of their own. This sad story reads like like Joseph Wambaugh novel.