Hillsborough sheriff’s investigations spur questions of equal treatment

About two weeks ago, when news broke that more members of Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister’s command staff were under internal investigation for possible academic dishonesty, Yvette Lewis dialed the sheriff’s number.The president of the NAACP’s Hillsborough Branch wanted to talk about why the two colonels under investigation, both of whom are white, were still on the job. Weeks earlier, Anthony Collins, one of Chronister’s chief deputies and the highest-ranking Black person in the office’s history, was suspended and resigned while facing a similar investigation.That looked like unequal treatment, Lewis recalls telling Chronister. She said the sheriff assured her that race had nothing to do with his decision and how things had played out.“But the perception of this is there in the community,” Lewis recalls telling the sheriff. “And when I say community, I’m not just speaking of the African American community. I’m speaking of the many people who have asked me about this ... If everything is still under investigation, then why are the other deputies still working? It doesn’t make sense.”The questions underscore the fallout that began with Collins’ resignation after Chronister said the chief deputy admitted to having a man named Robert Roush complete about half of his coursework in the prestigious FBI Academy.Collins, in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times for a story that published in late August , denied that Roush wrote papers for him, asserting that he was merely a tutor. That contradicted what Chronister said Collins told him, prompting the sheriff to call Collins a liar.Collins’ departure and the circumstances surrounding it stunned many who saw him as a bridge-builder between the Sheriff’s Office and communities of color and a realistic prospect to be Hillsborough’s first Black sheriff.Then, the Times on Oct. 3 reported that three more command staff members faced investigations related to Roush. Capt. Lora Rivera, who oversaw the sheriff’s professional standards bureau, resigned a day earlier amid allegations she’d paid Roush to complete a work-related paper for her, according to Chronister. And Michael Hannaford and Chris Rule, both colonels, exchanged emails in 2021 and 2022 with Roush in which they sought his help writing assignments, according to public records obtained by the Times. It is unclear how much Roush helped the pair. Both colonels remain employed and have not been suspended.The Sheriff’s Office has also confirmed that another member of the command staff, Capt. Zuleydis Stearns, is under investigation related to Roush. The 25-year veteran of the office currently leads its Communications Bureau and Records Division. Stearns also remains on the job while that investigation is ongoing.In an emailed response to questions from the Times, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Amanda Granit said Chronister “values the feedback he receives from community members, including Ms. Lewis, and takes their concerns seriously.”“However, it’s important that the facts, not emotion or speculation, guide this discussion,” Granit said.Granit noted that along with allegations of academic dishonesty, Collins initially faced “serious criminal allegations of child abuse, in addition to administrative concerns about an inappropriate relationship with an employee.”“Given the totality of those allegations, it was clear that he could not remain in his position while investigations were conducted,” Granit said. “By contrast, the ongoing investigation involving Colonels Hannaford, Rule, and Captain Stearns included no criminal allegations. It centers solely on whether they violated agency policy, and therefore, the circumstances are not comparable.”The investigation began when Alexandra Collins sent emails to her husband’s law enforcement colleagues in July that alleged that he had Roush write academic papers for him while attending the FBI National Academy. She also alleged he’d had an affair with a female deputy and blamed him for a domestic dispute in which one of their children was injured.Investigators did not find conclusive evidence of an inappropriate relationship and deemed the domestic allegation unfounded.Granit said Thursday that no other command staff members are under investigation related to Roush.There have been more allegations related to Roush lobbed against Chronister’s second-in-command, Undersheriff Thomas St. John, by a former sheriff’s deputy. In early October, James Stahlschmidt sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other agencies citing the cheating issue and a range of other allegations to call for an outside investigation into the Sheriff’s Office. Stahlschmidt, who worked at the Sheriff’s Office from 1999 to 2018, alleged that St. John “is suspected of using other personnel to complete his coursework in educational or academic programs directly related to his position, or of knowingly supporting others in doing so.”Granit said St. John is not under investigation and Stahlschmidt’s allegation “is just another baseless and sensationalized claim made from a disgruntled, former employee.”Chronister issued a statement on Oct. 7 addressing Stahlschmidt’s letter. “Despite sensational claims in his correspondence, this office remains committed to a complete, thorough, fair, and transparent investigation into any misconduct allegations,” the sheriff wrote.Tyron Pope, an assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired New York Police Department sergeant, said it is essential for the sheriff to take transparent steps to address the crisis.Pope suggested an independent external review could be necessary to examine how cheating occurred and make recommendations about how it could be prevented. The findings should be made publicly available, he said. To do otherwise will erode the community’s trust in the Sheriff’s Office.“Silence or leniency in this situation can easily be read as complicity,” Pope said. “And that’s something you don’t want. You want to restore trust. The sheriff has a hard job ahead of him.”“Academic integrity is not just an academic concern, but it’s a measure of character,” Pope said. “When an individual in a position of public trust engages in academic dishonesty, it calls into question their broader ethical judgment.”Chronister, a Republican who was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott when Sheriff David Gee retired in 2017, won a second four-year term without opposition in 2024. Chronister told the Times last month that he plans to run again in 2028. He has emphasized a commitment to diversifying the office, from the rank-and-file deputies to the upper reaches of the command staff, to better reflect the county it polices. He also pushed for the office to increase its presence in the community.The departure of Collins, who became a familiar face and point of contact for many residents, was a blow to both of those efforts.Tampa community activist Connie Burton, who also serves as second vice-president of the Hillsborough NAACP, said she’s disappointed with how Chronister handled Collins’ case and said the former chief deputy’s record and value to the office should have counted for more. Chronister “knows how that man has walked inside of our community to diffuse whole situations that, if he was not there, could have gone another way,” Burton said.Burton said she thinks Hannaford and Rule staying on the job indicates they’re being held to a different standard.“These people might get a lightweight suspension, they might get missing pay for 30 days,” she said. “But it was immediate and it was swift for Anthony.”A Democrat who previously voted for Chronister, Burton said she won’t do so again in 2028.Lewis said it’s still unclear to her how much the circumstances of Collins’ departure and the academic dishonesty investigations that it spurred might affect the sheriff’s support. “I don’t know how much damage it’ll do,” she said. ”But I think it’s something that’s always going to follow him."

Hillsborough sheriff’s investigations spur questions of equal treatment

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