ORLANDO, Fla. -- Five Orlando police officers face suspension after they allegedly sent pornographic e-mails to each other while on duty, according to a Local 6 investigation.
Investigators said the officers, including two lieutenants, e-mailed the images to each other on city computers.
"What you do on your own time is your own business but viewing pornographic pictures at work is not appropriate," Internal Affairs Sgt. Joseph Windt said.
Internal investigators uncovered a handful of e-mails with women performing various sex acts, the report said.
Officials said Lt. Shawn Fawbush, Officer Shawn Hayden, Capt. Jeffrey O'Dell, Lt. Victor Uvalle and Sgt. Brian Gilliam all broke police rules and are now awaiting their punishment.
"It's not flattering to the department but I think we've done a thorough investigation, a complete investigation," Windt said.
The e-mails were sent two to four years ago, the report said.
The investigation was prompted by a civil lawsuit filed by four male officers who allege they were all sexually harassed by their superior, Sgt. Barbara Jones.
"They were subjected to daily inappropriate advances, touching and gropings," officers' attorney Michael LaFay said.
In a deposition last December, the officers said they were afraid to report the alleged harassment because the people they would report to regularly watched pornography at work.
"A claim that has now been substantiated," Local 6's Louis Bolden said.
"They felt to go in and say, 'Look we're being touched and grabbed and groped,' it would just fall on deaf ears," LaFay said.
"The city has filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed but that has not happened so we're told both sides are preparing for trial," Bolden said.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Source: Channel 6 News
