TAMPA – Two Hillsborough County Sheriff’s colonels have resigned in response to an ongoing internal investigation.
The Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Colonel Christopher Rule and Colonel Michael Hannaford resigned on October 17.
Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
FOX 13 has reached out to HCSO to learn more about the investigation, but we have not heard back.
“The internal investigation into the allegations will continue until its conclusion, and we will release the findings once they are complete,” said the sheriff’s office.
The backstory:
These resignations come in the wake of a former chief deputy resigning amid allegations of academic cheating.
Anthony Collins announced his resignation at the end of July, four days after the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office received a tip containing the allegations.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said the sheriff’s office received an email from Collins’ wife alleging that he had paid someone to help him complete coursework for training classes at the FBI National Academy.
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Chronister said that Collins resigned before a formal investigation could be launched into the allegation of academic cheating, but he believes it would have been substantiated based on the evidence.
Big picture view:
Chronister went on to say that the allegation impacts the reputation of the entire agency.
“We 100% suffered a black-eye,” Chronister said. “It will be now incumbent upon us to help build that credibility back again over the future.”
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The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.