I have friends who have stories that could fill books. I could fill a small one myself.
Yes, this sounds like quintessential Florida "law enforcement," and is why every chance I get, I say, "saw it off and kick it away" before it infects the rest of civilization.
I was chatting with a retired NYPD at the gym once. He said he had a friend who went to work in Tampa but left, saying "it was too weird."
When the light is shone there, the world will see drug abuse, spiritism, and every other kind of wickedness, from the judges, down through the lawyers, the police, the crosswalk guards, and the freaking rent-a-cops at the Winn Dixie. Nothing else could explain the rank evil and corruption of the place.
Florida: Saw it off and kick it away.