FORT MYERS, Fla. — A high-ranking official with the Fort Myers Police Department has retired.
Major William Newhouse served the department for more than 27 years.
Newhouse was accused by the Fort Myers Police Department’s inspector general of ordering a subordinate to mislead city officials about the cost of constructing a new police headquarters.
Donald Oswald, the former inspector general, resigned on Friday after he said Fort Myers police Chief Derrick Diggs failed to adequately investigate claims that Newhouse had ordered a lieutenant to keep the rising costs of the new building under wraps.
A recent internal affairs investigation into his comments indicated that there was no impropriety on his part.
A police department spokesperson says “Major Newhouse has nonetheless chosen to retire in order to avoid distracting from the FMPD’s future success. Our department wishes him well in all his future undertakings and thanks him for nearly three decades of service to the City of Fort Myers and all its residents.”
