CASSELBERRY, Fla. — Casselberry named a new police chief Wednesday eight months after former chief Bill McNeil was forced to resign.
An Eyewitness News investigation exposed McNeil after discovering he was inappropriately texting a subordinate female officer back in October.
Since the discovery, six of McNeil's former employees sued him and the city in an age and gender discrimination lawsuit.
The new chief is Larry Krantz, who has been with the Orange County Sheriff's Office since 1984.
The city manager said Krantz will face the challenge of boosting morale and confidence in a department that is facing a "difficult time."
In the interview that earned Krantz the position as top cop, he said he would lead by example.
"I've known Larry for well over 20 years," former colleague Mark Lang said. "He's a great manager, great deputy sheriff, great leader. With a scandal such as that where the cop was involved with other officers you have to start fresh."
The decision came in the middle of a controversy surrounding the interim chief, David Del Rosso.
Del Rosso was in the top six for the position, but was given a verbal warning after he admitted to using a derogatory term to describe a suspect.
"If the interim chief or captain uses that term what's to stop other officers from using that term and then what terms are you not allowed to use and what terms can you use?" Lang said.
Lang said that other issues uncovered by Channel 9 could be a sign of a culture of unprofessionalism, but that Krantz will clean it up.
"He follows the rules, follows the law, he's approachable, people can go to him with problems and issues," Lang said.
Krantz will start on July 20.
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