The entire Lakeland Police Department K-9 unit has been suspended after an investigation into speeding on Interstate 10 by members who were returning from a competition in March. The internal investigation found officers drove as fast as 101 mph.

LAKELAND — The entire Lakeland Police Department K-9 unit has been suspended after an investigation into speeding on Interstate 10 by members who were returning from a competition in March.

The internal investigation found officers drove as fast as 101 mph.

The investigation also found that five officers admitted to filling up their in-car camera systems' SD cards in advance to prevent recordings of their travels to and from the trials. In all, nine officers were disciplined.

It's the largest number of suspensions at the police department at one time since a massive sex scandal in 2013 that involved at least 18 current and former Police Department employees, some of whom resigned, retired or were fired.

"I’m embarrassed and very disappointed in the conduct of these officers," Lakeland Police Chief Larry Giddens said Tuesday morning. "We hold every member of this department to the highest standards and expect them to represent our agency with an exceptional level of conduct at all times."

The infractions rose to the level that Giddens took the issue to State Attorney Brian Haas last week.

Both Haas and Giddens said they talk frequently, but Giddens made a special trip to Bartow to talk to Haas in his office about the K-9 unit.

"I learned from past history we want to be on a good communication level with the State Attorney's Office," Giddens said.

Haas told Giddens he would review the internal investigation to determine whether it warranted any additional inquiry by his office.

Haas said Tuesday LPD handled the investigation appropriately.

"There were not any findings of untruthfulness, and the credibility of the officers involved is not an issue," Haas said. "No additional action is necessary by my office."

If Haas had thought there was a lack of credibility or untruthfulness, he could have issued a “death letter,” the term for a notice saying prosecutors would no longer be willing to use testimony of an officer, effectively rendering any arrest reports and other similar documents useless because they cannot defend them in court.

"It does not rise to that level," Haas said. "People are going to make mistakes.

"The issue is when folks are not truthful in the investigation."

The investigation says the incidents of speeding occurred when nine members of the LPD K-9 Unit traveled in individual vehicles to Santa Rosa County Feb. 27 through March 3 to compete in the United States Police Canine Association Regional Field Trials.

Eight of the officers drove back to Lakeland in a caravan March 3. Officer Jeff Barrett had received permission to travel back earlier in the day.

About 8 that night, Giddens received a phone call from Emery Gainey, who works for the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Gainey reported that while driving on I-10 he saw a group of Chevrolet Tahoes bearing the LPD insignia driving in excess of 80 mph.

Giddens then called the K-9 unit supervisor, Sgt. Aaron Peterman, the summary said, and told him to “slow down.” A week later, Giddens ordered an internal affairs investigation into the allegation that members of the unit had violated department policy.

The administrative investigation involved Peterman and officers Ryan Back, Jeff Barrett, Cory Bowling, Virgil Cardin, John McLaughlin, Travis Miller, Chad Whitaker and Jeremy Williams.

The Office of Professional Standards at LPD completed its investigation and issued a report revealing that Peterman and seven officers reached speeds up to 101 mph on a highway with a posted speed limit of 70 mph.

The officers did not receive a speeding ticket, and no official complaint was filed, Giddens said.

"It happened outside of our jurisdiction," Giddens said.

He said the officers likely would have preferred a speeding ticket, which would have been a $350 citation for anyone speeding more than 30 mph.

Video footage from an in-car camera system found that Barrett drove through an area of Gulf Breeze at 84 mph in a 45 mph zone.

LPD’s marked cars are equipped with an in-car camera system that automatically begins recording when the vehicle reaches a speed of 75 mph, the summary said.

When questioned, five officers — Bowling, Cardin, McLaughlin, Miller and Whitaker — admitted to filling up their camera systems' SD cards.

The officers said they did so to avoid personal conversations between each other and their passengers from being recorded. They also said the constant audible beeping and flashing lights of the monitor in record mode would be distracting to their driving, the summary said.

Williams was using a spare K-9 vehicle outfitted with an antiquated camera system that did not have the automatic recording feature. The other three officers’ cameras recorded as designed, the summary said.

The investigation determined all nine members of the K-9 Unit drove above speed limits at some point and violated an LPD General Order titled “Speed Limits and Lights: Special Considerations.”

The five officers who filled up their memory cards were also found to have violated the department’s General Order of Improper Conduct and Conduct Unbecoming.

Two of the K-9 officers took their fiance and girlfriend to the canine trials as they had received permission from Peterman to do so, the summary said. Non-family members are prohibited by policy to travel in city vehicles. Because Peterman gave permission for the officers to do so, however, the officers will not be held in violation of the policy dealing with off-duty use of a city vehicle.

Peterman believed he had the authority to allow the non-family members to ride in the vehicles for the trials, the summary said.

“I am confident these officers have learned valuable lessons as a result of these investigations,” Giddens said in a statement Tuesday. “It is my sincere hope that administering this corrective action will change not only the behavior of the involved officers but serve as a reminder to all of the members of the Lakeland Police Department that this type of behavior is unacceptable.”

Here are the details on backgrounds and punishment for each officer:

• Sgt. Aaron Peterman, 41, 17 years of service, annual salary of $79,887; 16.8 hours suspension.

• Officer Ryan Back, 44, 19 years of service, annual salary of $68,886; 8.4 hours suspension.

• Officer Jeff Barrett, 53, 31 years of service, annual salary of $68,886; 8.4 hours suspension.

• Officer Cory Bowling, 37, 17 years of service, annual salary of $68,886; 16.8 hours suspension.

• Officer Virgil Cardin, 51, 8 years of service, annual salary of $51,725; 16.8 hours suspension.

• Officer John McLaughlin, 30, 5 years of service, annual salary of $53,018; 16.8 hours suspension

•Officer Travis Miller, 30, 7 years of service, annual salary of $51,725; 16.8 hours suspension.

• Officer Chad Whitaker, 32, 12 years of service, annual salary of $59,985; 16.8 hours suspension.

• Officer Jeremy Williams, 30, 6.5 years of service, annual salary of $49,233; 8.4 hours suspension.

The K-9 officers are on different squads with different hours. Gary Gross, a spokesman with the police department, said the suspensions will not impact the overall workforce.

Each officer will receive supplementary actions to include full and comprehensive training on the in-car camera system along with officer safety and awareness training focused on the dangers of speeding, the summary said. The five officers eligible to receive annual merit increases will be denied for one year.

LPD's K-9 unit has regularly won awards at competitions in recent years. Whitaker and his dog, Nox, won the top award at this year's competition.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. John Chambliss can be reached at john.chambliss@theledger.com. or 863-802-7588.