HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – A newly released report from the Town of Howey-in-the-Hills sheds light on why the town’s police chief resigned last month.
According to an investigation conducted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, former police chief Michael Giddens was being investigated for having sex, while on duty, with a woman who was the estranged wife of the suspect in a criminal investigation.
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The report also reveals a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation that started in November of 2025, a month after Giddens was sworn in as Howey-in-the-Hills police chief.
The report says Giddens, while he was a lieutenant, was investigating a man for contractor fraud when the suspect stopped communicating with him. In March of 2025, Giddens began reaching out to the suspect’s estranged wife to try to locate the suspect.
According to the report, Giddens and the woman had sex twice while he was on duty at a hotel in Lady Lake. The report also says Giddens continued to talk to the woman via WhatsApp, even after she began to divorce her husband and date someone else.
The woman said the sex was consensual, and she never felt that Giddens was harassing her or cyberstalking her, according to the FDLE report. She didn’t want him to get in trouble.
However, on May 4, 2026, Giddens was put on administrative leave because the town had received an anonymous complaint regarding his conduct.
After receiving the FDLE report on May 29, the town manager asked the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an internal affairs investigation, based on allegations of improper conduct.
Giddens resigned on June 3. Because of that, he will not be penalized by Howey-in-the-Hills.
Now that the internal investigation is finished, the findings will be submitted to FDLE’s professional-compliance staff for review and to determine if any action is taken.