We’ve all heard the stories about a spark, a one thing leading to another scenario that takes two people not looking for romance on a journey to its front door anyway. It’s a tale as old as time.
That’s what is alleged to have taken place last year in Lake County, Florida, between a former police chief, who resigned in June after being placed on administrative leave in May, and a suspect’s wife.
One day, Michael Giddens, then a lieutenant with Howie-in-the-Hills Police Department, is tracking down leads in a potential contractor fraud case. A few months later, he’s facing allegations of sleeping with the suspect’s wife.
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Investigations into those allegations by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office found that while he didn’t commit any crimes, Giddens did violate police and town policies.
FOX 35 Orlando reports that the results of the investigations were released last Thursday. They found that he violated policies regarding improper conduct, moral character, and sex while on duty.
It all started when Giddens opened a case against a man in December 2024 for potential contractor fraud. The man initially had conversations, according to the report, with the then lieutenant before he stopped responding.
Giddens is alleged to have reached out to the man’s wife in March 2025 in an attempt to have her get in contact with the man. They met for lunch and continued to exchange text messages after that.
The report states that eventually their “relationship became more personal.” The two allegedly met at hotels in the area while Giddens was on duty and had sex twice.
The relationship burned out quickly, and by the end of 2025 they were no longer seeing one another because the man’s wife had found someone new. Giddens was promoted to Chief of Police in October 2025.
Obviously, this promotion took place before the allegations of him inappropriately extending the long arm of the law were made.
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According to the report, there was a complaint made in November 2025 regarding Giddens and a potential ethics violation. Then in May 2026, the Town of Howey-in-the-Hills received an anonymous complaint.
That’s when an investigation was launched. Giddens wrote in his resignation letter, according to FOX 35 Orlando, “While I have always maintained the highest standards of professional conduct, I refuse to allow my personal life to be used as a tool to distract from vital work of this agency.”
That’s a solid resignation. All the allegations about his personal life are just a distraction and he’s not going to let that hold the agency back.
