The Lakeland Police Department suspended its entire K-9 unit after it determined that members were speeding while driving to and from a competition this past weekend.

Witness saw caravan of officers speeding

Dash cameras recorded when vehicles went over 75 mph

Department said some officers tampered with cameras

The competition took place in Santa Rosa, about a seven-hour drive from Lakeland. At some point during the trip, a witness called Police Chief Larry Giddens and reported seeing a caravan of K-9 officer vehicles speeding.

An internal investigation determined that dashboard cameras recorded video from several of the units. The cameras begin recording when vehicles start going 75 mph, according to Gary Gross, a department spokesman.

“I’m embarrassed and disappointed in the conduct of these officers,” Giddens said. “In this particular incident, these officers have failed and will be held accountable through the use of our disciplinary policies.”

The officers are not only in trouble for speeding: Five of them tampered with the cameras, filling up the memory before the trip even started.

Giddens said two of the officers were permitted to bring girlfriends on the trip and said they didn’t want their casual conversations recorded by the dash cams.

“They’re going to have to rebuild their image,” Gross said, "and the Lakeland Police Department is going to have to work harder to explain to the public [that] we don’t have a double standard.”

For the most part, the suspensions are two shifts per officer. Gross said those will be staggered on the schedule so public safety will not be affected.