\n<\/p>\n
In Florida, there are two ways a public official can get into serious trouble \u2013 guns and public records. Florida has powerful statutes regarding firearms and the public\u2019s right to official records, and Okeechobee Police Chief Donald Hagan seems hellbent of violating all of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If a local official, or officials as in the case of Okeechobee, enact their own firearm rules, they violate the state preemption statute, which only allows the legislature to regulate arms. Penalties include removal from office and fines of up to $5,000, which the statute requires them to pay personally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If an official violates that state\u2019s Public Records Act, which is also known as the Sunshine Law, they can face fines of $500 if the violation is a relatively minor error, which the statute calls a noncriminal infraction. However, if an official knowingly violates the Sunshine Law, look out. Penalties can include immediate suspension, removal from office or impeachment, and even criminal charges \u2013 a misdemeanor of the first degree \u2013 punishable by a prison sentence not to exceed one year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chief Hagan, you may recall,\u00a0infamously signed an illegal ordinance<\/a>\u00a0passed by the five-member city council, which banned guns and ammunition sales as well as the right to carry as Hurricane Helene was about to make landfall.\u00a0<\/p>\n Florida Carry, Inc.\u00a0is breathing down the city\u2019s neck<\/a>, as a result. The pro-gun group is about to file a complaint against Hagan and the council members, which could remove all six of them from office and lighten their personal checking accounts by around $5,000 each.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Hagan has yet to explain why he scrawled his name on the illegal ordinance, but his spokesman Detective Jarret Romanello, his Major Bettye Taylor and the city\u2019s mayor, Dowling R. Watford, Jr., have all been attempting massive damage control by gaslighting the public with excuse after excuse, none of which can possibly justify the preemption violation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ordinance was stricken down after just hours, Taylor pointed out. She never mentioned that an angry call from Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 office may have precipitated the repeal, or that in his emergency order for Hurricane Milton, DeSantis specifically stated that local gun bans were prohibited \u2013 a direct result of the mess Okeechobee created.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was just an \u201cinadvertent mistake,\u201d Taylor claimed, even though five council members approved the ordinance, which Chief Hagan then signed.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ordinance was never enforced, Taylor and the city\u2019s attorney have said, which doesn\u2019t matter either. As the council learned in correspondence from Florida Carry, enforcement is not required for a preemption violation. Mere enactment is enough to bring on the legal pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n On a local radio show, Both Romanello and Mayor Watford blamed \u201ckeyboard warriors\u201d \u2013 outside agitators of sorts for creating all the fuss. Chief Hagan, they claimed, was the real victim here, not the residents whose civil rights were violated.\u00a0<\/p>\n Romanello claimed that most of the \u201cnoise\u201d directed at his boss was coming from folks who live outside city limits. This noise, he said, even included death threats that were directed at the chief and his family.\u00a0<\/p>\n To be clear, Chief Hagan has not responded to calls, emails or messages left with his spokesman and members of his department seeking an explanation as to why he signed the illegal ordinance. The Second Amendment Foundation had to file a public records request just to get the chief\u2019s cell phone number, which of course he never answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n Romanello explained that the chief isn\u2019t in hiding. Hagan\u2019s inability to return a phone call or reply to an email is the direct result of the death threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe needed some time off,\u201d Romanello said last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, threatening the life of a chief of police and\/or members of his family is a serious matter. There are state and federal criminal charges that could apply. Therefore, the Second Amendment Foundation made a second public records request through Romanello, seeking \u201ccopies of every police report made in response to threats received by Chief Donald Hagan and\/or his family \u2026 and copies of any correspondence sent to FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement), the FBI or any other law enforcement agency, asking them to investigate the threats received by Chief Donald Hagan and\/or his family.\u201d<\/p>\n Romanello immediately balked at the public records request.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPlease go through our City Clerk, the custodian for all city records,\u201d he said in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n Romanello was reminded that Florida\u2019s Public Records Act allows a citizen to make a request to any member of a public agency \u2013 even janitorial or office staff. This portion of the law was enacted to prevent public officials from giving citizens the runaround when they want access to official documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d Romanello said of the reminder. \u201cOnce I get the documents I will forward to you,\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, seven working days after it was filed, Romanello refused to provide the status of SAF\u2019s public records request, and he once again denied a request to interview his boss, Chief Hagan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Florida\u2019s Public Records Act does not specify an exact time limit that public officials have to comply with a request. According to\u00a0a public records overview<\/a>, created by Patricia R. Gleason, Special Counsel for Open Government to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, and known throughout the Sunshine State as the guru of public records requests, the standard is\u00a0reasonableness<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Florida Supreme Court has stated that the only delay in producing records permitted under the statute is the reasonable time allowed the custodian to retrieve the record and redact those portions of the record the custodian asserts are exempt,\u201d Gleason wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Is seven working days a reasonable amount of time to find, redact and email a handful of police reports and associated correspondence, if they do in fact exist? It could someday be a question for the courts. However, in this case the question is moot.\u00a0<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s Public Records Act, like its preemption statute, are state laws. The Okeechobee Police Department is a law\u00a0enforcement<\/em>\u00a0agency, tasked with\u00a0enforcing<\/em>\u00a0state laws, and should be held to a higher standard.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chief Hagan likely violated his oath when he banned gun sales and the right to keep and bear arms. His residents and the entire state of Florida have a right to know why. But rather than stepping up and admitting what happened, all we get is gaslighting, excuses and delays.\u00a0<\/p>\n The public \u2013 especially the 5,432 souls living on the north side of Lake Okeechobee \u2013 has a right to know the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n This article is courtesy of the Second Amendment Foundation\u2019s Investigative Journalism Project. Click\u00a0<\/em>here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories from the project.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDeath Threats?<\/h2>\n
![<\/a><\/div>\nIn Florida, there are two ways a public official can get into serious trouble \u2013 guns and public records. Florida has powerful statutes regarding firearms and the public\u2019s right to official records, and Okeechobee Police Chief Donald Hagan seems hellbent of violating all of them.\u00a0<\/p>\nIf a local official, or officials as in the case of Okeechobee, enact their own firearm rules, they violate the state preemption statute, which only allows the legislature to regulate arms. Penalties include removal from office and fines of up to $5,000, which the statute requires them to pay personally.\u00a0<\/p>\nIf an official violates that state\u2019s Public Records Act, which is also known as the Sunshine Law, they can face fines of $500 if the violation is a relatively minor error, which the statute calls a noncriminal infraction. However, if an official knowingly violates the Sunshine Law, look out. Penalties can include immediate suspension, removal from office or impeachment, and even criminal charges \u2013 a misdemeanor of the first degree \u2013 punishable by a prison sentence not to exceed one year.\u00a0<\/p>\nChief Hagan, you may recall,\u00a0infamously signed an illegal ordinance<\/a>\u00a0passed by the five-member city council, which banned guns and ammunition sales as well as the right to carry as Hurricane Helene was about to make landfall.\u00a0<\/p>\nFlorida Carry, Inc.\u00a0is breathing down the city\u2019s neck<\/a>, as a result. The pro-gun group is about to file a complaint against Hagan and the council members, which could remove all six of them from office and lighten their personal checking accounts by around $5,000 each.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nHagan has yet to explain why he scrawled his name on the illegal ordinance, but his spokesman Detective Jarret Romanello, his Major Bettye Taylor and the city\u2019s mayor, Dowling R. Watford, Jr., have all been attempting massive damage control by gaslighting the public with excuse after excuse, none of which can possibly justify the preemption violation.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe ordinance was stricken down after just hours, Taylor pointed out. She never mentioned that an angry call from Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 office may have precipitated the repeal, or that in his emergency order for Hurricane Milton, DeSantis specifically stated that local gun bans were prohibited \u2013 a direct result of the mess Okeechobee created.\u00a0<\/p>\nIt was just an \u201cinadvertent mistake,\u201d Taylor claimed, even though five council members approved the ordinance, which Chief Hagan then signed.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe ordinance was never enforced, Taylor and the city\u2019s attorney have said, which doesn\u2019t matter either. As the council learned in correspondence from Florida Carry, enforcement is not required for a preemption violation. Mere enactment is enough to bring on the legal pain.\u00a0<\/p>\nOn a local radio show, Both Romanello and Mayor Watford blamed \u201ckeyboard warriors\u201d \u2013 outside agitators of sorts for creating all the fuss. Chief Hagan, they claimed, was the real victim here, not the residents whose civil rights were violated.\u00a0<\/p>\nDeath Threats?<\/h2>\nRomanello claimed that most of the \u201cnoise\u201d directed at his boss was coming from folks who live outside city limits. This noise, he said, even included death threats that were directed at the chief and his family.\u00a0<\/p>\nTo be clear, Chief Hagan has not responded to calls, emails or messages left with his spokesman and members of his department seeking an explanation as to why he signed the illegal ordinance. The Second Amendment Foundation had to file a public records request just to get the chief\u2019s cell phone number, which of course he never answered.\u00a0<\/p>\nRomanello explained that the chief isn\u2019t in hiding. Hagan\u2019s inability to return a phone call or reply to an email is the direct result of the death threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cHe needed some time off,\u201d Romanello said last week.\u00a0<\/p>\nNow, threatening the life of a chief of police and\/or members of his family is a serious matter. There are state and federal criminal charges that could apply. Therefore, the Second Amendment Foundation made a second public records request through Romanello, seeking \u201ccopies of every police report made in response to threats received by Chief Donald Hagan and\/or his family \u2026 and copies of any correspondence sent to FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement), the FBI or any other law enforcement agency, asking them to investigate the threats received by Chief Donald Hagan and\/or his family.\u201d<\/p>\nRomanello immediately balked at the public records request.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cPlease go through our City Clerk, the custodian for all city records,\u201d he said in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\nRomanello was reminded that Florida\u2019s Public Records Act allows a citizen to make a request to any member of a public agency \u2013 even janitorial or office staff. This portion of the law was enacted to prevent public officials from giving citizens the runaround when they want access to official documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cThank you,\u201d Romanello said of the reminder. \u201cOnce I get the documents I will forward to you,\u201d<\/p>\nOn Friday, seven working days after it was filed, Romanello refused to provide the status of SAF\u2019s public records request, and he once again denied a request to interview his boss, Chief Hagan.\u00a0<\/p>\nUnfortunately, Florida\u2019s Public Records Act does not specify an exact time limit that public officials have to comply with a request. According to\u00a0a public records overview<\/a>, created by Patricia R. Gleason, Special Counsel for Open Government to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, and known throughout the Sunshine State as the guru of public records requests, the standard is\u00a0reasonableness<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cThe Florida Supreme Court has stated that the only delay in producing records permitted under the statute is the reasonable time allowed the custodian to retrieve the record and redact those portions of the record the custodian asserts are exempt,\u201d Gleason wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\nIs seven working days a reasonable amount of time to find, redact and email a handful of police reports and associated correspondence, if they do in fact exist? It could someday be a question for the courts. However, in this case the question is moot.\u00a0<\/p>\nFlorida\u2019s Public Records Act, like its preemption statute, are state laws. The Okeechobee Police Department is a law\u00a0enforcement<\/em>\u00a0agency, tasked with\u00a0enforcing<\/em>\u00a0state laws, and should be held to a higher standard.\u00a0<\/p>\nChief Hagan likely violated his oath when he banned gun sales and the right to keep and bear arms. His residents and the entire state of Florida have a right to know why. But rather than stepping up and admitting what happened, all we get is gaslighting, excuses and delays.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe public \u2013 especially the 5,432 souls living on the north side of Lake Okeechobee \u2013 has a right to know the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\nThis article is courtesy of the Second Amendment Foundation\u2019s Investigative Journalism Project. Click\u00a0<\/em>here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories from the project.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\nSource link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Florida, there are two ways a public official can get into serious trouble \u2013 guns and public records. Florida has powerful statutes regarding firearms and the public\u2019s right to official records, and Okeechobee Police Chief Donald Hagan seems hellbent of violating all of them.\u00a0 If a local official, or officials as in the case […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Man-Hiding-with-Paper-Bag-on-his-Head.jpeg\"){kind=link}