Bend Police Lt. Chris Carney’s sex scandal can be heavy on the police department.

That’s why Bend City Manager Eric King’s internal investigation of the department is critical.

He needs the Bend City Council behind him. He needs full, frank cooperation from officers in the department. And he needs to be open with Bend residents about what he finds. King says he intends to be open and may have some findings as soon as this week.

It’s important to remember that investigators found Carney to be untruthful, but he quit after claiming he had sex with four women. Three of them worked for the city and one was reportedly a member of the media. The sex occurred on and off duty and it occurred on city property and in a marked patrol car.

Any department is going to have its share of embarrassing and unfortunate incidents. This one is about as embarrassing as it gets. It happened while Jeff Sale was police chief.

Is there a leadership, management or cultural problem in the department? Were warnings ignored? Or is there nothing more there?

It shouldn’t be assumed that the public’s concerns will vanish with a simple “all is well” at the end of the city’s latest review. The city management owes more to its residents and its police officers.

This may not be the most dangerous place to be a cop, but still every officer starts a shift not knowing what chaos a domestic disturbance or a traffic stop may bring. We count on them to make spot decisions about the law. It could be ruinous if their confidence or the public’s confidence in how the department is run has eroded.

After the review, the city should not be afraid to defend the department. But it’s also doubly important that it does not duck and swerve if it should confess to Bend residents that the department is less than its residents would hope.