The deputy chief of the Fruitland Park Police Department resigned and another officer was fired after the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement turned over a report to the city describing their link to the Ku Klux Klan, a prosecutor said Friday.

Deputy Chief David Borst, 49, of Wildwood, resigned and the second officer, whose name couldn't be immediately confirmed, was dismissed, city officials said.

On Friday, police Chief Terry Isaacs said Borst resigned because of "personal family issues." Asked about the report, Isaacs said he knew of a report but he refused to say what was in it.

Fruitland Park City Manager Gary La Venia said FDLE presented the police chief with information this week that showed two officers were involved in possible improper action and misconduct. La Venia would not comment on specifics.

However, Chief Deputy State Attorney Ric Ridgway said Isaacs contacted his agency Wednesday after the FDLE gave him a report on the pair, looking for advice. The report, which wasn't available late Friday, contained "a lot of fairly substantial evidence that tends to support" the pair were members of the Klan, Ridgway said.

While there is no crime in belonging to a hate group, such membership could pose problems for the state attorney when trying to prosecute a case based on evidence provided by a KKK member or supporter, Ridgway said.

"It's not a crime to be a member of the KKK, even if you are the deputy chief. It's not a crime to be stupid," Ridgway said. "It's not a crime to hate people. It may be despicable, it may be immoral, but it's not a crime."

Borst could not be reached for comment.

The departures marked the second time in five years that the small northwest Lake County city has found officers involved with the Klan, the oldest of 49 American hate groups tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In 2009, pictures surfaced of a Fruitland Park police officer in his uniform, with a Ku Klux Klan robe and pointy hood over top, one hand resting casually on his gun and the other gripping his belt. The officer, James Elkins, resigned when asked about the photographs and Klan documents promoting him to "District Kleagle" that were mailed without comment to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

jomaye@tribune.com; lritchie@tribune.com