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FDLE chief steps down

Guy Tunnell had been criticized for his handling of the investigation into the death of a teenager beaten at a boot camp.

By JENNIFER LIBERTO and ALEX LEARY
Published April 21, 2006

A final note from FDLE chief Parents meet with Bush on boot camp death Read letter from Bush to Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober

TALLAHASSEE - Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Guy Tunnell resigned Thursday in a cloud of controversy for his handling of an investigation into the death of a teenager the day after he was beaten at a Bay County boot camp.

Gov. Jeb Bush's office gave no reason for Tunnell's resignation.

"He is a dedicated law enforcement officer who leaves behind an agency that is second to none," a governor's press release stated.

Tunnell's resignation marks the second major state department chief to resign amid scandal in less than three months. Bush said he asked for the resignation of former Department of Corrections chief James Crosby.

Earlier in the day, Tunnell discussed his job with a St. Petersburg Times reporter, saying he was disturbed at all of the criticism he has received, but he did not indicate he had any immediate plan to resign.

Tunnell said he did not believe he had any problem with the governor, but he indicated he was ready for retirement after spending more than 30 years in law enforcement. He did not return calls Thursday night.

A longtime sheriff in Bay County and a native of Panama City, Tunnell was hand-picked by Bush in 2003 to head the FDLE.

Tunnell, who succeeded Tim Moore, had been chairman of a transition team that reviewed operations at the Department of Corrections and was an outspoken supporter of Bush. He was elected sheriff in 1988 as a Democrat but switched to Republican in 2000.

As sheriff, Tunnell started the Bay County boot camp for juvenile offenders. That boot camp is now the center of a widening controversy following the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson in January.

Even as his agency investigated Anderson's death, Tunnell kept up a running e-mail commentary with his successor as Bay County sheriff, Frank McKeithen. In a series of heated electronic exchanges with law enforcement colleagues, Tunnell vented about everything from a search for scapegoats in Anderson's death to the lack of state money for boot camps.

When two state legislators asked to see the videotape of Anderson's beating, Tunnell shot back, "Ain't gonna happen."

Three weeks ago, Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober removed the FDLE from the boot camp investigation, citing the e-mails. The decision came shortly after a meeting between Tunnell and Bush.

Additional e-mails also showed Tunnell had complained to Bush's chief of staff about how the new state prison chief had described the actions of his son's involvement in a brawl. Brad Tunnell, 31, resigned from the Department of Corrections last month.

Tunnell's resignation drew applause from at least one senator who has been critical of Tunnell's role in the boot camp investigation.

"I think the governor is well served in accepting that resignation," said Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, who was outraged over the e-mails Tunnell exchanged with the Bay County Sheriff's Office. "The agency was tainted once that information got out."

In a private meeting with Bush on Wednesday, Hill said representatives of the Legislature's black caucus asked if Tunnell would be reprimanded. Hill said Bush told them that he was waiting for Ober to finish his investigation.

Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, and Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami Beach, both received a call from the governor's office tipping them off about Tunnell's resignation about an hour before the public notice went out.

"I've got a positive working relationship with him, no matter how hard it got, he was always calm and thorough," Crist said.. "He's an experienced law enforcement officer with a long record of achievement, and he's leaving behind an agency."

Times staff writers Lucy Morgan, Steve Bousquet and Letitia Stein contributed to this report.

[Last modified April 21, 2006, 01:43:55]