Mount Dora Police Department · Internal investigation IA2026-03
Mount Dora Police Investigation Sustained Five Violations Against Officer Jeremiah Murphy
Mount Dora Police Department records state that an internal investigation sustained five policy violations against Officer Jeremiah Murphy after a city-ordered drug screen was confirmed positive for cocaine. The agency reported that Murphy resigned while the investigation was pending.
Internal investigation report
The complete 177-page redacted investigative production is provided below.
Expand internal investigation viewer
CJSTC Form 61
The separation form identifies Murphy and records the agency’s selected separation category.
Expand Form 61 viewer
How the investigation began
The investigation report says an Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigator contacted Mount Dora police on June 1, 2026, after receiving information alleging that Murphy had used cocaine and had been involved in a traffic crash. An Orange County deputy interviewed during the inquiry said she did not observe signs of impairment at the crash scene and Murphy was not arrested for DUI.
Mount Dora Police Chief Michael Gibson ordered Murphy to submit to a reasonable-suspicion drug screen on June 2. The report states that the City of Mount Dora’s human-resources director advised the department on June 9 that the confirmed test result was positive for cocaine. Murphy was served with notice of an internal investigation and placed on administrative leave.
Additional insubordination allegation
The report states that Murphy was instructed to contact the medical review officer and remain available to the department. Investigators said he did not contact the medical review officer and did not report to the police department on June 22 after being ordered to do so. The agency then expanded the investigation to include insubordination.
A Fraternal Order of Police representative notified the investigator on July 6 that Murphy had submitted a resignation effective that day. The department continued the administrative investigation.
Five sustained findings
The final report sustained the following Mount Dora Police Department policy violations:
- Use of alcohol and illegal drugs;
- Conformance to laws;
- Moral character;
- Unbecoming conduct; and
- Insubordination.
An August 6, 2026 memorandum transmitting the CJSTC Form 78 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement states that the discipline would have been termination had Murphy not resigned.
Separation form
The CJSTC Form 61 identifies Jeremiah Murphy as a full-time Mount Dora law-enforcement officer and lists an employment date of July 1, 2026 and a separation date of July 6, 2026. The selected separation reason states that he voluntarily separated or retired while being investigated for a possible violation of Florida’s officer-qualification or moral-character standards.