Aug 27, 2026 Inside Internal Affairs Investigations: Lessons from Chief Larry Horak (Ret.)

Few areas of policing carry more risk — or less room for error — than internal affairs. Retired Chief and FBI veteran Larry Horak has spent a career getting it right, and learning critically important lessons when outcomes don’t achieve desired results!

When a complaint lands on an agency’s desk, the clock starts and the stakes climb. An internal affairs investigation has to be objective, thoroughly documented, and legally sound — or it can unravel, taking an officer’s career, an agency’s credibility, and the public’s trust down with it. It is, as few will admit out loud, one of the most consequential and least forgiving functions in all of public safety.

That is exactly the ground Chief Larry Horak (Ret.) has spent decades mastering. As an FBI Special Agent, a police chief, and the person who built one of the country’s foundational internal affairs training programs, Larry has seen the discipline from a variety of diverse perspectives. Today he brings that experience to Embassy, leading two Internal Affairs Investigations courses that turn the profession’s highest-liability work into something investigators can navigate with confidence.

Why internal affairs is the work you can’t afford to get wrong

Larry is blunt about the risk. “Internal affairs in any public safety organization carries the same potential for things to go wrong and liability imputed for mistakes and bad guesses while operating in the gray area,” he says. “Training of managers and investigators is critical.” It’s a theme he returns to constantly: the gray area is unavoidable, but being unprepared for it is a choice.

“Conducting a professional administrative investigation requires a systematic, objective, and well-documented approach by a trained investigator to ensure accountability and fairness within a government organization.” — Chief Larry Horak (Ret.)

That balance — accountability on one side, fairness on the other — is the heart of the work. “Properly trained investigators protect both the institution’s integrity and the rights of the individuals involved,” Larry notes. Done well, an IA investigation defends everyone: the complainant, the accused, the agency, and the community it serves. Done poorly, it exposes them all.

From FBI agent to building the national standard

Larry’s career began in 1980 and spanned both federal and municipal law enforcement. As a Special Agent with the FBI, he investigated violent crime, civil rights violations, and public corruption — the kind of high-scrutiny casework where documentation and objectivity are everything. He retired in 2015 as Chief of Police for the Margate (Florida) Police Department, having led an agency from the top of the org chart.

In 2001, his passion for teaching led him to Broward College as an adjunct instructor in internal affairs. Four years later he did something more ambitious: he developed the curriculum and launched FBI-LEEDA’s Internal Affairs seminar in 2005 — helping shape how a generation of investigators nationwide learned the discipline. He has since presented for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the National Internal Affairs Investigators Association (NIAIA), and the Florida Internal Affairs Investigators Association (FIAIA), and served as an expert witness and consultant on agency accountability and administrative procedure.

That perspective isn’t only from the management side of the table. Larry has also been active in public safety labor organizations for more than three decades, holding leadership positions in police unions — experience that gives him a rare, both-sides view of the disciplinary process and the rights it must protect.

His credentials run deep: a graduate of the FBI Academy, the FBI National Academy’s 239th session, and the Southern Police Institute’s Command Officers Development Course, with a Master’s in Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University and status as an IADLEST National Certified Instructor.

What colleagues say

The people who work alongside Larry describe the same thing: a rare combination of lived authority and classroom clarity.

“Internal affairs is where an agency’s credibility is won or lost. Larry is the rare instructor who has lived every side of it — as an FBI agent, as a chief, and as the person who built the curriculum others now teach from. When he’s in the room, investigators leave knowing their work will hold up.” — Scott Robertson, Vice President of Training & Operations, Embassy Consulting Services

“Few instructors command a subject the way Larry commands internal affairs. He takes the most intimidating, high-liability part of the job and makes it clear, practical, and approachable. Agencies don’t just walk away with information — they walk away with confidence.” — Ron Bayne, Director of Training & Consulting, Embassy Consulting Services

Two courses that turn liability into readiness

Larry facilitates two Internal Affairs Investigations courses at Embassy — a national program and a Florida-specific track — each built to move investigators from allegation to disciplinary appeal with defensible, legally sound process. Both dig into the landmark rulings that govern the work, including Garrity, Weingarten, and Loudermill.

The goal, in Larry’s words, is defensibility — investigations that stand up when they matter most.

“The administrative investigative process is a critical function of internal affairs. By prioritizing objectivity, thorough documentation, and timely communication, trained investigators ensure findings are defensible, and that organizations remain accountable to their stakeholders.” — Chief Larry Horak (Ret.)

Internal Affairs Investigations: Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about Chief Larry Horak (Ret.) or browse the full Embassy Course Library.