A former south Florida police officer is contending that Florida Gov. Rick Scott violated the state's election laws earlier this week during a stop in Tampa.
The complaint alleges that Gov. Scott broke the law when he had on-duty law enforcement officers stand with him during an event held in Tampa on Monday.
Florida law does not allow public employees to do campaign work while on duty.
Media reports after the event quoted law-enforcement agencies who said they thought the officers were there to provide security or were there for an official state event.
The Scott campaign contends that all officers were told ahead of time it was a campaign event. A spokesman called the complaint a "sad distraction."
The complaint was filed by Jeff Marano, the president of the Broward chapter of the Police Benevolent Association. The state BPA has previously endorsed Scott's likely opponent in this fall's governor's race: Charlie Crist.
In the complaint, Marano contends that he and at least one high ranking member of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office thought they were there to discuss crime reduction, so they brought officers to attend the event.
However, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri also attended the event and said it was clear to him it was a campaign stop.