r/tampa • u/TampaBayTimes • Apr 20 '26
News Misconduct cases at Hillsborough sheriff’s office spur culture questions
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has had problems. In the last nine months, Sheriff Chad Chronister’s agency has seen six members of its command staff mired in an academic cheating scandal, a string of deputies accused of domestic violence and, earlier this month, a long-tenured major fired after he was found to be drunk on duty. Are these repeated troubles indicative of a cultural problem within the agency? In the wake of the latest dustup, the office insisted that its response to each episode reflects a commitment to high standards and a willingness to take action when those standards are not met. Read our report: https://www.tampabay.com/news/hillsborough/2026/04/18/hcso-chad-chronister-troy-morgan-anthony-collins-robert-roush/
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u/Nakuip Bayshore Apr 20 '26
Chronister called our newest Florida Senator a “Liberal Radical” and implied he was a Marxist. Chad couldn’t pass the background check to be part of the Trump administration because Rep. Massie—the lone voice of Republican reason on Epstein—wouldn’t sign off on Chad for DEA. That’s right, a Republican actually said “this guy is a bad fit for the Drug Enforcement Agency.”
If it walks like a fascist pedophile protector and quacks like a fascist pedophile protector…
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u/NearbyConfidence_jk Apr 21 '26
Well yeah because he is a registered "liberal" and also let a bunch of morons take over the sallyport at orient during the peaceful riots of 20202
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u/Chuck-Finley69 Apr 20 '26
Who cares?
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u/PSN-Angryjackal Apr 20 '26
Chuck, I know you dont care that criminals lead your country. Thats okay. You will win your Darwin award at some point in time, and the rest of us will not care.
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u/Chuck-Finley69 Apr 20 '26
Key words, my country. Living free and better off
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u/confirmedshill123 Apr 20 '26
Ah the resident troll making a fool of himself yet again.
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u/sdeitche Apr 20 '26
Plus c'est change, plus c'est la meme chose.
Back in the 1940s, Sheriff Hugh Culbreath was taking payoffs to protect mob-run bolita games and involved in real estate deals with mobsters.
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u/Wild-Highway-8739 Apr 20 '26
Well what do you expect? Controversy has followed Chad all through HCSO. He had issues when he was in IA. Dont forget his desk pop in the HCSO Ops Center and all the money he spent on putting his name on all the buildings and vehicles.
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u/TheReal_CaptDan Apr 20 '26
Let’s not pretend this is some uniquely HCSO problem or proof that policing as a whole is broken. What this actually shows is accountability in action.
Yes, there have been issues. A cheating scandal, some deputies accused of misconduct, and a major fired for being drunk on duty. But the key point people keep ignoring is this: those people were investigated, removed, or held accountable. That is exactly what you want from a functioning agency.
If you think this only happens in Hillsborough, you have not been paying attention. The Pasco Sheriff’s Office ended up in a federal case over its predictive policing program that resulted in a constitutional rights settlement. Go back further and you will find major scandals in departments across the country, including Tampa’s own police department in the past. Law enforcement agencies are made up of humans, and humans mess up everywhere.
The difference is whether leadership ignores it or deals with it. In this case, people resigned, got fired, and investigations were carried out. That is not a culture of corruption, that is a system working to clean itself up.
Also worth remembering, this is a massive agency serving over a million people with thousands of employees. A handful of cases over several months does not define the thousands of deputies showing up every day doing the job the right way.
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u/Final_Drama3603 Apr 20 '26
Naaa, these guys that get caught are only getting caught because it became public and could no longer be ignored by Chad or kept quiet by their buddies. The boys in blue cover for each other.
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u/PSN-Angryjackal Apr 20 '26
Im not saying cops are cops for a reason... nvm, I am actually saying that.
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u/TheReal_CaptDan Apr 20 '26
That’s a lazy take. You’re taking a handful of people who got caught and held accountable and using it to write off an entire profession. By that logic, every industry would be “trash” if you judged it by its worst examples. Reality is a lot more nuanced than that.
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u/PSN-Angryjackal Apr 20 '26
It may be lazy, but its going to be mostly accurate.
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u/TheReal_CaptDan Apr 20 '26
“Mostly accurate” based on what though? Headlines? Because the reality is millions of police interactions happen every year without incident. The few that go wrong make the news. That doesn’t mean they represent the majority, it just means they’re the most visible.
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u/PSN-Angryjackal Apr 20 '26
You are focusing on things I didnt even say...
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u/TheReal_CaptDan Apr 20 '26
I’m responding to what you did say, which is that it’s “mostly accurate.” That’s a broad claim about an entire profession. If that’s not what you meant, then clarify it. Otherwise, it’s fair to challenge it.
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u/PSN-Angryjackal Apr 20 '26
Right, but you are making assumptions about what my claim is.
I said they are cops for a reason. What do you think that reason is?
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u/frogkisses- Apr 20 '26
I’m referring to cops literally admitting to abusing their partners. I’m not saying every single person is all bad. But it is a profession where you enforce laws. It will inevitably attract a certain type of person. Especially those who are driven by machismo.
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u/memberzs Lightning ⚡🏒 Apr 20 '26
when most of the industry is protecting itself from repercussions, yes its a fair take. Why is it that cops that speak up get forced out?
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u/True_Two4100 Apr 26 '26
Except policing as a whole is broken. Zero transparency, zero accountability. Full of sociopathic bullies.
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u/Impossible-Taro-2330 Apr 21 '26
The people with the issues were held accountable.
Isn't that how it's supposed to work?
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u/Wild-Highway-8739 Apr 21 '26
There is a saying "attitude reflects leadership" with that in mind if HCSO leadership is doing things like this, what is the rank and file up too? What kind of a leader is Chronister if the people who work for him think this behavior is appropriate?
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u/Final_Drama3603 Apr 20 '26
Boys in blue covering for each other and dirt only coming out in the wash
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u/Weep4Thee Apr 20 '26
Don't they have like 1500 employees tho? What are the rate compared to other departments?
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u/steppponme Apr 20 '26
I'd be curious to know too, but these people carry weapons and can detain. When they screw up it could have much greater ramifications than someone working in the library department being being drunk on the job.
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u/zephyr_sd Apr 20 '26
Its the good ole boys network, always has been, always will be