Embattled Brooksville police detective resigns

[MrScorpio]

By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, July 16, 2010

BROOKSVILLE — An embattled Brooksville police detective resigned Thursday, three weeks after he was suspended with pay pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.

Detective Shawn Terry, 33, turned in a two-sentence notice of resignation at 8 a.m. at the Brooksville police station, Chief George Turner said.

In the letter, Terry wrote that he was leaving the agency because he "decided to pursue other interests to further my career."

Turner declined to offer a reason for the veteran detective's resignation. "I really don't have anything to add," he said. "He can make his decision and move on."

Terry could not be reached for comment.

The State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are conducting a joint investigation into Terry, Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway said.

Ridgway declined to say whether that investigation is connected to the Brooksville Police Department's internal investigation.

Terry's resignation brings an end, if only temporarily, to a checkered history in local law enforcement. His disciplinary record was the worst at the Brooksville Police Department, despite his promotion to detective last year.

In his more than 10 years as a law enforcement officer, Terry has been the subject of 30 complaints and investigations and eight reprimands, some of which date to his time at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. Most recently, state prosecutors investigated Terry for perjury after he lied in a deposition.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/embattled-brooksville-police-detective-resigns/1109197

[Angry Dragon]

1. Maybe he decided to pursue a life of crime

to further his career