Editor's note: Venice Florida! dot com has made repeated public records requests for documents that would either support or refute Venice Police Chief Williams' version of events as told below. According to written responses from the parties involved, there are no written documents or memos within the city or the police department that show when Lieutenant Mike Rose was given permission to "visit" his private business, who gave him the permission, when the permission was rescinded, when City Manager Isaac Turner was informed, how many hours were involved, when Rose allegedly made up the time spent at his business, how much mileage was used on city vehicles, etc. In response to public records requests made by both Venice Florida! dot com and by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Williams, Turner, and City Clerk Lori Stelzer have replied that no such documents exist.

Meanwhile, Venice Florida! dot com has received evidence that would indicate that Rose spent quite a bit more time at his bait shop than Williams is admitting to having knowledge of (see story).

The following text was written by Police Chief Julie Williams. It is reprinted below without any editing on our part.

There have been repeated stories in the local news about how a lieutenant with the Venice Police Department was allowed to go to his private business during the workday.

First, please know that the Venice Police Department is dedicated to providing the safest environment and highest levels of service possible. It is my privilege to manage a very fine, although small department to fulfill the emergency and safety needs of this beautiful city.

In doing so, I have tried to be extremely efficient and stretch tax dollars as far as they will go.

We have a total of 53 sworn police officers, including those who have administrative duties, to patrol and respond to emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During the average week, we may have officers who are on vacation, sick leave, family leave, testifying in court, working on investigations, on a day off or involved in any number of normal workplace circumstances that take employees away from the "office." There are usually five or six officers on patrol throughout the city at any given time.

Our police officers work 12- hour shifts and are allowed to take a one-hour lunch break and two 15-minute breaks in the course of the day. Officers are free to run errands during those breaks. Our policy is that officers must always be available by radio and must inform dispatch any time they leave the city's jurisdiction.

Lt. Mike Rose owns a bait shop that is adjacent to city limits on the Nokomis side. He requested from Capt. Dave Dunaway the opportunity to "drop by his bait shop to see how things were going," from time to time. In their minds, it was no different from stopping at a convenience store for a soda or to use the restroom. Dunaway understood that Rose would make brief stops on rare occasions and instructed Rose not to conduct his private business on city time. Rose recently confirmed that he has not conducted business at his bait shop while on city time.

When I learned that Rose was given permission to check on his business during work hours, I immediately revoked that decision.

I have talked with both Dunaway and Rose. And, while I was disappointed in what I considered a lapse in judgment, I believe they had no intention to shirk their duties or to be insubordinate. They have assured me this situation would not take place again, and, to my knowledge, it has not.

I have at times had to counsel officers for insubordination and for ignoring rules we all have to live by. My philosophy is to give all my employees the benefit of the doubt once. But if a situation should arise again after it has been addressed, I do not hesitate to act. It doesn't matter to me if the person in question is a 30-year command officer or a 6-month patrol officer. I have the highest expectations for all members of this department, and most of the time they all meet those expectations.

I want you to know the members of the Venice Police Department are outstanding men and women, devoted to the public's safety and welfare. I take great pride in being their leader. Like any organization, or even family, we will have our internal disagreements, our miscommunications and our differing views of how things should be. But we will always be united in our service to the Venice community.