The man the Escambia County Commission wants to make the Deputy Fire Chief – Robert Paul Whitfield, Jr. – was fired by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff on Dec. 22, 2005. He was fired for untruthfulness and for misdirecting action of the fellow officer under investigation. Whitfield was a Lieutenant at the time. Whitfield allegedly lied about an affair with a subordinate, Deputy Rebecca Johnson, that was a violation of the non-fraternization policy of the SRSO.
Johnson told a fellow worker that Whifield was the father of her child, although Whifield never provided a DNA sample to prove or disprove paternity when he was requested to do so by the SRSO investigators. Whitfield was Johnson’s supervisor. Both Johnson and Whitfield had earlier denied to SRSO investigators that they had a relationship.
Whitfield did appeal the termination by SRSO and the Santa Rosa County Civil Service Board, but that appeal was denied by the Appellate Division of the Circuit Court in Santa Rosa County, Acting Judge Ross Bilbrey on Oct. 17, 2006.