Four of the commission members are elected by the citizens at large but must reside in the district represented by the seat to which they are elected and the other commission member is elected by the citizens at large to serve as mayor and can reside in any district of the city. In 2016, a Lake Wales police officer, Travis Worley, was accused by a whistleblower on the Lake Wales police force of calling a black suspect the N-word. The department suspended Worley for one day, but denied that he had used a racial slur. In 2019, he was named Lake Wales’ Officer of the Year. The whistleblower said she was subsequently targeted for punishment by the Lakes Wales police department and ultimately resigned. Worley has subsequently been accused on at least two occasions of using the N-word, including once in front of students at the local high school. Demographics As of the census of 2010, there were 14,225 people (2014 Estimate put the population at 15,140, according to the U.S. Census Bureau), 5,038 households, and 3,778 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,900 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 65% White, 27.5% African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.6% of the population. There were 5,038 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 19, 6.0% from 20 to 24, 20.2% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 23% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,285, and the median income for a family was $47,785. Males