Michael Winter

USA TODAY

Echoing the once-segregated South, a Florida deputy police chief has resigned and an officer has been fired after the FBI reported that both belonged to the Ku Klux Klan

Fruitland Park Deputy Chief David Borst has denied involvement with the notorious white-hooded hate group that emerged after the Civil War and continued to terrorize and murder blacks through the mid-20th century.

The 49-year-old Borst, a department veteran of more than 20 years, was also fire chief for the Lake County city of 5,000, about 40 miles northwest of Orlando. He resigned both posts Thursday after being confronted with the FBI report.

Officer George Hunnewell, who was demoted last year over performance and attitude complaints, was fired Friday by Chief Terry Isaacs.

The state attorney's office is reviewing every arrest made by the officers and giving particular scrutiny to cases involving minorities, Isaacs said.

It the second time in five years that Klansmen have been found in the Fruitland Park Police Department. In 2009, Officer James Elkins resigned after photographs showed him in a white robe and pointy hood, and he later admitted he was a leader of the local KKK.

In the current cases, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement gave Isaacs a summary of an FBI investigation based on information from a confidential source who linked both officers to the Klan. No criminal wrongdoing was found, and the FBI said no other officers were linked to the white supremacists.

Chief Deputy State Attorney Ric Ridgway, whom Isaac contacted for advice, told the Orlando Sentinel that the report contained "a lot of fairly substantial evidence that tends to support" Borst's and Hunnewell's Klan membership.

But he pointed out that it's not illegal to belong to the KKK "even if you are the deputy chief."

"It's not a crime to hate people. It may be despicable, it may be immoral, but it's not a crime," he said.

Because of that, Fruitland Park officials had to decide whether Borst and Hunnewell had violated city standards and ethics.

"We cannot nor will we tolerate any philosophy that is inherently morally corrupt or one that espouses bigotry or any intolerance aimed at any groups or individuals because of their race, religion, ethnicity or gender or sexual orientation," said City Manager Gary La Venia.

Isaacs initially told the Orlando Sentinel on Friday that Borst was resigning for "personal family issues," and he would not address the Klan allegations.

"We are here, we are in place, and I want the public to know this type of conduct will not even be remotely tolerated," Isaacs told News 13.