For many current and former members of the Lakeland Police Department, 2013 is a year they would like to forget.

Dozens of officer have been fired or resigned in the wake of a sex scandal and other controversies at LPD. The actions of other officers have also put the agency in the crosshairs of State Attorney Jerry Hill.

Hill initiated a grand jury investigation of LPD over concerns about the ways it was handling public records requests.

Reporters for The Ledger claimed to have issues with LPD turning over documents. The grand jury didn’t issue any indictments after its investigation, but it did release a document called a presentment regarding its findings.

The city of Lakeland spent nearly a quarter million dollars to pay the legal bills of some city employees who wanted the presentment kept from the public. A judge ruled that the presentment should be sealed but an appeals court eventually ordered the presentment unsealed.

The presentment was critical of LPD over its handling of public records. It accused a former LPD public information officer of poor job performance and accused police chief Lisa Womack of creating a climate of fear.

The agency was also criticized for a roadside search of resident Zoe Brugger. An offer ordered Brugger to shake her bra as part of the search. The incident was captured on dashcam video.

Then officer Nick Edds testified in court that he had a drunk driving suspect sign a mostly blank form which he later filled out and had another officer sign that sworn document.

About 40 drunk driving cases were thrown out of court as a result.

Then came the sex scandal.

An investigation found that at least 10 officers had sex with crime analyst Sue Eberle. The investigation also found that she had sex with a member of the fire department at the funeral for an officer shot and killed in the line of duty.

The officers were fired or resigned as a result of the investigation.

In September, officer Julio Pagen was arrested on accusations that he sexually assaulted a woman while on duty. Several LPD workers were disciplined for the way they handled the woman’s complaint call to LPD.

State Attorney Jerry Hill also sent a letter to LPD saying he would no long accept testimony from sergeant Brian McNabb. Hill claimed that McNabb couldn’t be trusted to testify in court because of how McNabb responded to questioning about allegations relating to the sex scandal.

The police union has waged an unsuccessful effort to get Hill to change his mind. If Hill won’t use McNabb to testify in court it will likely end his career as an officer with LPD.

In December, incoming Mayor Howard Wiggs, who was a city commissioner at the time, made a failed attempt to get city manager Doug Thomas to fire Police Chief Lisa Womack.

Also in December, State Attorney Jerry Hill made a presentation to the Lakeland city commissioner in which he made numerous allegations of new public records violations and other problems at LPD.

Hill told city leaders that mistrust of the LPD makes it harder to do his job and suggested the only way to fix the problem, was to clean house, starting at the top.

"There’s a myth that things are getting better," said Hill. "They’re not. You don’t have to be in public office to see that.

The report also listed nine recommendations to get the department moving in the right direction.