http://cjonline.com/news/2015-02-27/former-tpd-deputy-chief-tony-kirk-withdraws-application-lakeland-fla-assistant-chief A former deputy police chief for the Topeka Police Department has withdrawn his application for assistant police chief in Lakeland, Fla., after he admitted to smoking marijuana years ago. Tony Kirk was scheduled to begin his new duties on Monday, according to a Lakeland, Fla., city news release. “Kirk communicated with Chief Giddens earlier this morning that he was withdrawing his application for assistant chief of police effective at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 27th,†the release states. Kirk went through a thorough background check for the assistant chief position. However, during the final states of the new hire process, inconsistencies came up. “Kirk explained that he inadvertently indicated that he had never tried marijuana on his internal new hire paperwork,†the release said. “However during the polygraph process he admitted to trying marijuana when he was 20 years old. The use of marijuana so many years ago would not prevent employment with the Lakeland Police Department. However the inconsistencies between the new hire forms and his later admissions regarding marijuana use triggered concerns.†Police Chief Larry Giddens said he was disappointed in the outcome and that Kirk would have been a good addition to the force, according to The Ledger, a newspaper in Lakeland, Fla. “An office at LPD headquarters had Kirk's nameplate on the door as late as Thursday,†the article said. Doug Thomas, city manager for Lakeland, called the announcement an unfortunate incident. “We were looking very forward to Kirk joining our team but our law enforcement personnel are held to a high standard and as insignificant as it may sound, inaccuracies between his application and the polygraph process automatically disqualifies a candidate to move forward,†Thomas said. “I wish we weren't in this situation and I'm truly saddened for Tony and his family under the circumstances that we now find ourselves in.†Kirk was to be paid a salary of $122,000, according to The Ledger. To accommodate his move from Kansas, he was given another $13,000. Kirk began his career in law enforcement in Topeka in 1987. He held the ranks of patrol officer until 1990, narcotics investigator until 1995, community police officer until 1996, detective until 1999, sergeant until 2002, lieutenant until 2005 and major until he became deputy chief in 2012. Kirk served in the Marine Corps from 1988 to 1996 and had been a member of the Kansas Army National Guard since 2001. He served a 400-day military deployment from 2011 to 2012 to Djibouti in East Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Kirk graduated with a bachelor's degree in human resources management in 1994 and a master's degree in total quality management in 1996, both from Friends University at Wichita. He is a 2005 graduate of the FBI National Academy.