Arturo Gonzalez, a 30-year veteran of the Fort Myers Police Department and head of the Special Enforcement Division, resigned in May following accusations of an extramarital affair with a city Human Resources employee, Amber Colon. The allegations surfaced publicly after a whistleblower, former detective Emelia Lock, filed a complaint detailing surveillance footage that allegedly captured Gonzalez and Colon in a romantic embrace outside City Hall on May 1. The complaint stated that their relationship was observed while Gonzalez was on duty.
Lock, who spent a decade with the department, claimed that her own subsequent discrimination complaint against supervisors, including Sergeant Scott Newbury and Captain Michael Walsh, was compromised because it was assigned to Colon for investigation. Lock alleged that Colon, who is married, did not conduct a thorough investigation, failed to interview key witnesses she provided, and leaked information to Walsh, who was also named in Lock's complaint. Colon ultimately determined Lock's claims against Newbury and Walsh to be unsubstantiated.
Lock lodged a second complaint in May, after learning of the alleged surveillance footage, asserting that the affair between Gonzalez and Colon created a critical conflict of interest that "fatally compromised" her earlier employment investigation. Lock stated that standard HR practices would not permit an investigator with such a conflict to oversee a case involving individuals tied to their romantic partner. Gonzalez resigned four days after Lock filed this second complaint.
Gonzalez, 51, was pictured with his wife, Irma Gonzalez, who also worked for the police department as an administrative aide before leaving, and their daughter in happier times celebrating an engagement in July of the previous year. The surveillance footage of Gonzalez and Colon was reportedly shown to Irma Gonzalez. Neither Arturo Gonzalez nor Amber Colon have publicly addressed the allegations. Colon, in a May interview with the Florida Trident, denied a romantic relationship with Gonzalez "last year" but declined to elaborate further on questions about a more recent relationship, stating she had not seen the video.
Lock stated she came forward to expose what she described as an obvious conflict of interest. She also alleged that Newbury, described as Gonzalez's "best friend" in the department, and Gonzalez were allowed to retire with full benefits before disciplinary proceedings were completed. Lock resigned from the force in October, citing years of discrimination from bosses after she returned from maternity leave in late 2021. She recounted instances where her supervisor allegedly made sexist remarks about her ability to perform her job after becoming a mother, despite her working long hours.
Gonzalez's tenure was not without prior scrutiny. In 2015, he was involved in a controversial drug arrest where a suspect alleged police planted narcotics. In 2019, Gonzalez was named as a defendant in a federal excessive force lawsuit that was later dismissed. The City of Fort Myers has declined to comment on the alleged footage or Gonzalez's retirement, citing ongoing reviews and employee privacy regulations. Lock's latest complaint remains pending, and a public records request submitted by the Daily Mail for information regarding Lock's claims is also pending.