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AP Police Chief: Highlands County's Toughest Job

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 1, 2009

Imagine being Avon Park Police Chief Matt Doughney. He's been on the job 10 months and he's watched his department come apart piece by piece, and none of it is his fault.

One officer was arrested and charged with stealing. He's awaiting trial. Another officer was arrested and charged with shaking down migrant workers. He's awaiting trial. Now another officer was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse. The child he allegedly injured is fighting for her life.

Then there was the heartbreaking death of Sgt. Marc Wilbur, who died of a heart attack while on duty recently. From all accounts, he was one of the good guys and did Avon Park proud.

If our calculations are correct, Avon Park Police now has seven openings, due to arrests and not filling positions due to budgetary reasons. For a police department that size, it's a challenge to be an effective law enforcement agency with so many openings. If it weren't for the dedicated people working for the department who do their jobs and serve the people of Avon Park, it would be an impossible situation. But they are working harder than ever to keep their city safe.

Doughney is a good man, and he's shown that he doesn't accept bad behavior from his staff. We commend him for that, and the resolve that he apparently has by continuing to lead his department so well.

Every officer and employee of the Avon Park Police Department deserves credit for pushing on and doing good work during these dark days. It has to be difficult when so many negative things are swirling around them. It's important that those folks don't get tainted due to the alleged actions of a few officers. They have much to be proud of.

It's critical that the public feel confident that the people paid to protect them are of strong moral character. Trust is difficult to earn and easy to lose. The good news is that many Avon Park residents are standing behind the new chief and the rest of the department during these trying times.

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