WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO QUIET LITTLE LAKELAND?

It has been an interesting week in dear 'ol Lakeland, as there have been two officer involved shootings in less than 24 hours, one with the Lakeland Police Department and one with the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Monday night, PCSO emergency response team members shot a man suspected of robbing several financial institutions along the I-4 corridor in recent weeks. Sheriff Grady Judd's chief of staff is saying the shooting was justified, but the State Attorney's office has the final call on that.

Then Tuesday, an LPD officer wounded a man who had been pulled over for a traffic violation when the officer felt his life was threatened as the driver supposedly lunged the car toward him. While not saying much as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates details, officials are saying the shooting appears justified.

This case is interesting. The driver has a lengthy criminal record and is listed as a habitual traffic offender who was carrying a suspended license at the time. But the officer is not without controversy, having been involved in another shooting three years ago as well as two other internal investigations and crashed a patrol car driving 90 in a 30 MPH zone on South Florida Avenue...when he was not responding to an emergency; he was just "puttin' the petal to the metal".

What is our quiet town comin' to???