At presstime, we had been unable to get anybody at the Key West Police Dept. to confirm or deny a report that the controversial Lt. Al Flowers has been removed as the nightshift supervisor. He has reportedly been replaced by Sgt. (now acting lieutenant) Ken Hock. Flowers has reportedly replaced Hock on the day shift. So far, we have been unable to get an answer to the following question, faxed twice this week to both Police Dept. spokesperson Cynthia Edwards and Police Chief Buz Dillon: Is Flowers' reported transfer related to the volume of complaints from both citizens and other police officers?
Flowers and two other officers spent all last week at the Federal Courthouse on trial for allegedly using excessive force when arresting a gay man in April 1997. They were cleared of all charges. Last month, Flowers received a written reprimand for criticizing another office to a City Commissioner. Flowers once arrested and jailed a man for feeding cats in Bayview Park after closing hours. He also once arrested a woman for walking her dog without a leash— and then added a resisting arrest charge when she complained.
Yet, Police Chief Dillon has been quoted as saying, "I wish I had a dozen officers like Lt. Flowers."
Stay tuned to see what's going down in the cop shop.