Lake Hamilton has fired its police chief, Christopher Votour, effective October 23, citing a string of sustained findings that include mishandling an internal complaint, operating a town-issued police vehicle after drinking, and broader failures in departmental leadership. The termination caps a monthslong review that also uncovered procedural missteps serious enough to force the town to reinstate another employee it had previously fired.
According to a termination letter obtained by Daily Ridge, the document states Votour's termination was effective October 23, though a separate personnel action form lists October 27 as the separation date and marks the action as a dismissal or discharge — a discrepancy the paper's review of the records did not resolve. The October 27 letter was signed by Town Administrator Brittney Sandoval, who said the decision rested on sustained findings rather than allegations the investigation failed to substantiate.
Votour signed an acknowledgment of receipt dated October 27, though the signature confirms only that he received the notice and does not signify agreement with its findings, per the same documents. He may submit a written response for inclusion in his personnel file and may also appear at the next regularly scheduled public Town Council meeting to respond to the termination, according to the termination notice.
A Complaint That Never Followed Proper Channels
At the center of the findings is a written complaint Captain Ortiz-Gonzalez submitted about a lieutenant on or about March 19. Sandoval said Votour failed to process that complaint through the appropriate administrative channels, even though its substance fell within the department's grievance procedures despite not being formally labeled a grievance, the letter states.
That mishandling denied the captain an opportunity for review and appeal to the town administrator, according to the letter. Sandoval described the complaint-handling violation as potentially minor when viewed in isolation, but she said it contributed to escalating internal conflict, declining morale, and diminished confidence in departmental leadership — a pattern the station's report frames as more damaging in aggregate than any single infraction.
A Termination That Triggered Its Own Reinstatement
The fallout from that complaint eventually intersected with a separate personnel action: Ortiz-Gonzalez's own termination on April 6. The town cited procedural failures in both the handling of the original complaint and the investigation that led to the captain's firing, per the termination letter reviewed by Daily Ridge.
Legal counsel was not consulted before that termination, the letter states, and special counsel identified deficiencies involving requirements under Florida's Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, along with the department's broader investigative and disciplinary procedures. Those procedural deficiencies resulted in the captain's reinstatement, the document notes, and exposed the town to potential legal liability while requiring additional municipal resources and compromising its ability to address alleged misconduct going forward.
Florida law lays out specific protections for officers facing discipline. Under Florida Statutes Section 112.532, an officer must be notified of a punitive action and the reasons behind it before the effective date, informed of the nature of any investigation and the names of complainants before interrogation, and given a complete copy of the investigative file along with a chance to respond before dismissal is finalized. Separately, Florida Statute 112.533(2)(a) requires every law enforcement agency to maintain a system for receiving, investigating and determining complaints against officers, and requires a political subdivision to forward any complaint to the employing agency within five business days.
The December Christmas Party Incident
The letter also outlines a separate finding involving Votour personally: that he consumed two alcoholic beverages at the town's Christmas party in December 2025 and subsequently operated a town-issued police vehicle, a violation of departmental policy. The letter is explicit, however, that the town made no determination that Votour was impaired or that he drove while legally intoxicated — it found only that he drank and then drove the vehicle, in violation of policy.
Sandoval said she based her decision on a review of the special counsel's final investigative report, the town's personnel policies, police department general orders, Votour's own explanations, and prior efforts to address departmental concerns. She considered his explanations, his acknowledgment of procedural errors, and subsequent training he underwent, but ultimately concluded that significant deficiencies remained in his judgment and in his administration of departmental discipline. Sandoval cited supervisory oversight deficiencies, internal conflict and distrust, and deteriorating working relationships within the department, saying the cumulative findings materially diminished her confidence in Votour's ability to fulfill his responsibilities.
Daily Ridge's review of the documents noted that the materials provided by the town include its own findings but not the special counsel's underlying investigative report or any separate written response Votour may have filed.
A Department With a Troubled History
Votour's firing lands atop years of documented concern about Lake Hamilton's police capabilities. A State Attorney's Office report previously found that the department lacked the ability to investigate serious crimes due to a lack of competent officers, proper leadership and training, as reported by WFLA. That report covered a town of 1,304 residents spread across 3.9 square miles, and concluded that fixing the problem would require a major change in the way law enforcement is handled in Lake Hamilton.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at the time his agency could begin providing law enforcement protection if the town requested it, noting the sheriff's office already handled dispatch services for Lake Hamilton. Judd said he would not commit to hiring any of the town's officers until Lake Hamilton formally requested assistance and his staff completed background checks, though he ruled out hiring Lieutenant Michael Sanchez outright.
Earlier reporting from the Ledger found that Lake Hamilton's then six-officer department had posted Polk County's highest crime rate six times since 2000, including in 2013 and 2014, and the county's highest arrest rate for nine of the preceding 15 years. That reporting also noted the town had not recorded a murder in at least 15 years and that its last reported rape was in 2000, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement data, with one investigator's review concluding that Lake Hamilton was no longer able to provide its citizens with proper police protection while maintaining its own department.
