In 2002, Gainesville Police Officer John Bostick was given an award of excellence for his service, but now he has stepped down amidst a major investigation into his behavior.

At this point, the administration at the police department is keeping quiet about why Bostick is in trouble, but he could be facing criminal charges.

Bostick was sworn-in at GPD in 2000, but resigned last friday after learning of the investigation.

While GPD is handling an internal investigation, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office are working together to see if criminal charges also need to be filed.

Many rumors are circulating through the police department about why Bostick stepped down, but so far, we have not been able to confirm any of them.

In fact, several members of GPD's administration, as well as some of our inside sources who work there, say they have also been left out in the cold when they asked supervisors about the investigation.

This isn't the first time that Bostick has been the subject of an internal affairs investigation, but none of the others are as serious as this one may be.

In August of 2005, he was suspended for nine days, was cut 10 hours of vacation time, and lost take-home privileges of his squad car for 180 days after lying to supervisors about an auto accident he had been in.

In 2006, he was suspended again - this time for one 10-hour shift - for cursing at a 16-year-old suspect who recorded the incident on his cell phone.

Also, three times in the last 13 months, Bostick has been in trouble for not pressing record on his dashboard camera during a traffic stop or pursuit.

So far we have not been able to reach Bostick or his attorney.

By David Hamilton/WCJB TV 20 News