A two-month Internal Affairs investigation cleared Deputy Chief Milo Thornton – the No. 3-ranking member of the Sheriff’s Office and highest-ranked black law enforcement in the county’s 97-year history – of violating any agency policies.
He was demoted, anyway.
And he was given a $10,000 pay cut.
And he was reassigned, stripped of his deputy-chief duties as supervisor of the Sheriff’s Office’s Department of Corrections and Judicial Services, where he oversaw the agency’s operations at the county’s jail, courthouse and schools.
When Thornton returned from an 11-week paid suspension on Monday, in fact, his rank was reduced to captain and he was placed in charge of a newly created School Safety Division, where he will oversee the Sheriff’s Office’s school resource officers.
School Superintendent David Moore confirmed via text message on Monday that Thornton is now working out of an office at the school district’s administration building – which means he’s no longer at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
Sheriff Eric Flowers announced Thornton’s demotion and reassignment in an “agency-wide email addressing organizational changes.”
In the email, Flowers wrote that the Sheriff’s Office’s other deputy chief, Lonnie Rich, who already oversaw the Department of Law Enforcement and Investigative Services, would assume Thornton’s former duties.
Missing from Flowers’ email, however, was any explanation for his decision to demote such a high-profile member of the agency after an extensive internal affairs investigation turned up nothing.
Surely, he had a compelling reason to take such drastic action, especially with Thornton’s fate attracting so much public attention.
Remember: The timing of Thornton’s suspension remains curious, coming just days after Flowers learned in late January that his marital infidelity was no longer a secret – news that would soon make headlines.
Similarly, the internal affairs investigation, which initially focused on allegations that Thornton created a hostile work environment at the jail, was launched only three weeks after Vero Beach 32963 published a story about the steps he had taken to vastly improve health-care services and reduce costs since assuming management of the jail in January 2021.
Coincidence?
Only if you don’t believe the local law enforcement sources who say some of Flowers’ closest advisors had been warning the sheriff that Thornton will eventually run against him – possibly in two years – and shouldn’t be entrusted with information that could be used during a future campaign.
Whatever Flowers’ motivations, he must know his reputation has been wounded and his credibility in the community is in tatters. To invite further scrutiny by refusing to publicly address his decision to demote a member of his command staff would be foolish.
As of Monday, though, the Sheriff’s Office hadn’t responded to multiple requests made last week asking Flowers, or anyone else representing the agency, to provide an explanation for Thornton’s demotion.
The agency did provide on Monday – in response to a public-records request – the April 5 memorandum Flowers sent to Thornton to inform him of his demotion, reassignment and salary reduction.
But it had not yet provided access to the internal affairs case file pertaining to the Thornton investigation, a request made in writing last week under Florida’s public-records law.
Don’t hold your breath: When it comes to responding to public-records requests, the Sheriff’s Office under Flowers isn’t the Chick-fil-A drive thru.
Unlike the previous sheriff’s administration, which often provided same-day responses, Flowers’ team can take a week or more to produce requested public records.
So we’ll wait.
We’ll also wonder.
Let’s face it: Flowers’ decision to demote Thornton, especially at this time, doesn’t make sense, given the failure of the internal affairs investigation to produce any evidence of wrongdoing worthy of a disciplinary measure.
The unexplained demotion feeds the theory that Flowers, who everyone expects to seek re-election, is worried about facing Thornton in the 2024 campaign – so much so that he needed to publicly tarnish the potential challenger’s image.
The demotion not only diminishes Thornton’s stature in the agency, it also removes him from the Sheriff’s Office campus and takes him out of Flowers’ inner circle, effectively banishing the newly demoted captain to the school district’s administration building.
Certainly, the sheriff has the authority to promote and demote. It’s his agency. He gets to pick his leadership team.
But was this the right thing to do?
As the week began, Flowers wasn’t talking, but the case file – yes, we’ll eventually see it – will say plenty.
It will tell us who filed the complaint that got Thornton suspended and sparked the investigation, which witnesses were questioned, what evidence was produced and why investigators reached their conclusion.
It will tell us whether Thornton was given an opportunity to respond to the complaint and rebut the allegations, as well as to present evidence in his defense.
It should tell us why Flowers chose to demote and reassign Thornton, even after a two-month, in-house investigation came up empty.
And if we find out Thornton did do something to prompt Flowers’ decision?
Only Flowers can tell us why he didn’t extend to his now-former deputy chief the same spirit of understanding and forgiveness he asked of his wife, his agency and our community after the hypocrisy of his extramarital affair was exposed.
Last week, Thornton announced on his personal Facebook page that he had been cleared of any policy violations and would return to duty Monday – a post that prompted more than 1,300 “likes” and “loves,” as well as nearly 400 comments, all of which expressed support.
Those people, along with the rest of us, can’t wait to hear what Flowers has to say about Thornton’s suspension.