Ex-Clermont cop gives up law-enforcement credentials

A former Clermont cop can no longer be a police officer after pleading no contest Wednesday to perjury charges, court records show.

Cecil Clifford Garrett, 48, surrendered his law-enforcement credentials as part of his plea agreement and will be on probation for two years, Lake County court records show. Garrett, who had been on unpaid administrative leave since May, resigned Tuesday, Clermont Police Chief Charles Broadway said.

An investigation concluded he was making traffic stops without cause, records show.

Walter Forgie, supervising assistant state attorney in Lake County, said getting Garrett to give up his law enforcement credentials was the most important punishment in the case.

“Certainly given the crimes he committed, it was the overriding concern for us,” he said.

Garrett, a 12-year veteran, wrote in reports that he was pulling people over because their licenses were suspended. But the investigation showed he was pulling people over, then running their plates, so he had no way of knowing they were driving on suspended licenses until after the stop. He was charged with five counts of perjury.

This is the second time Garrett has run afoul of department policies. He was fired in 2011 after an internal investigation revealed he falsely arrested a teen on a drug charge. But the city was forced to rehire him two years later after losing an arbitration case.

Several months later, the improper traffic stops began.

An investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement determined there were 42 arrests since 2011 where Garrett wrote that he had prior knowledge of a driver having a suspended license. Of those, 10 cases were dismissed because prosecutors believe he misrepresented information.

Garrett’s attorney declined to comment.