'Kangaroo court' or 'serious issue': City Commission split on O'Keefe 'trespassing' incident

Despite warnings from the city attorney to limit discussion about a pending investigation, city commissioners and the city manager spent an hour Wednesday discussing an alleged trespassing incident involving Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe.

It was the second time in two weeks that the City Commission set aside time to talk about the incident, which involves allegations that O’Keefe hopped a fence at the future police headquarters to live-stream the city’s removal of 20 oak trees that residents hoped to save.

And it won’t be the last.

City Manager Reese Goad plans to update the commission a third time about the matter once the Tallahassee Police Department completes its investigation and prosecutors decide whether to pursue charges.

The handling of the incident has become the latest example of the irreconcilable 3-2 split on the City Commission and the open political warfare between the two factions, with Mayor John Dailey and Commissioners Dianne Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson on one side and Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter on the other.

“Obviously, we will agree to disagree,” Dailey said. “And we will continue to move forward with this and keep us posted on what’s going on. This is a very serious issue that does need to be investigated and is being investigated.”

Matlow, who was with O'Keefe, Porter and concerned citizens outside the construction site on Jan. 25 as the trees were coming down, blasted his colleagues and city management for bringing the agenda item forward before the investigation was complete.

“Welcome to the kangaroo court of the city of Tallahassee,” Matlow said. “I’ve never seen an item like this in my entire life, where we have the mayor of the city of Tallahassee and commissioners vote to direct staff who are not law enforcement officers to investigate a felony.”

Dailey, Goad and Williams-Cox, who brought the matter up two weeks ago and moved for an update on what happened, strongly disagreed with Matlow’s characterization. Dailey said it wasn’t unusual for the city to bring back “after-action” items when an event like a storm happens.

“So let’s be very clear,” the mayor said. “There was no motion to investigate. We do not have those powers, and what was asked for was information on the incident and an after-action report on how we can move forward.”

But Matlow said that the police department answers to the city manager, who answers to the elected officials. He noted that Dailey mentioned during their last meeting that trespassing on a construction site was a felony and that Williams-Cox said the city needed to “send a message.”

“I’m not sure how you can interpret that any other way,” Matlow said. “As for ... the actions of the day, the whole reason people were gathered there is because of a lack of communication and a breach of trust from the city manager.”

The barbed back-and-forth happened amid warnings from City Attorney Amy Toman.

“I just want to mention that it has been our long-standing policy to not comment on pending investigations and ongoing litigation,” she said. “And also just to reiterate that this is an active criminal investigation, which is exempt from public disclosure.”

Later, Dailey asked Toman whether elected officials have the right to go to a restricted construction site without permission.

“Can I just go out and walk around?” he asked.

“It’s hard for ... no, I guess you can’t,” she said. “There is a state law that makes it ... a criminal action to trespass.”

City Manager: 'It is a fact' that O'Keefe was in the construction zone

O’Keefe, Matlow and Porter and others, including a group of concerned citizens, went to the former Northwood Center site off North Monroe on Jan. 25 after an abrupt decision by the city to remove the trees.

A week earlier, residents noticed that the trees had X’s painted on them marking them for removal. They mobilized and expressed concerns to commissioners and staff but couldn’t persuade the city to change its plans. City officials have said the trees were removed to make room for a stormwater pond and affordable housing on the 30-acre site.

Both O’Keefe and Matlow live-streamed video from the site, offering up criticism of the destruction. O’Keefe’s video, which he later took down from social media, showed him jumping over a locked fence partially surrounding an existing stormwater pond adjacent to the construction zone.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Goad played a one-minute clip of O’Keefe’s video, which showed him jumping the fence after he’d been asked to leave by an Ajax Construction worker. He noted that Ajax, which is building the new police headquarters, fenced a portion of the site in 2021 and added more fences and no trespassing signs last fall.

Goad stopped short of accusing O’Keefe of trespassing. But he noted that anyone who trespasses on a construction site commits a felony. And he asserted that O’Keefe’s video showed “his presence inside the construction site.”

“It is a fact that Mr. O’Keefe was in the construction site,” Goad said. “It is not disputable.”

State Attorney Jack Campbell said earlier in the month that his office was working with TPD and O’Keefe’s lawyers to resolve the matter. He said he hadn’t decided yet whether charges would be filed.

O’Keefe denied jumping a fence with a no trespassing sign after the incident came to light at the last City Commission meeting. But he said he couldn’t comment further until the legal process plays out.

Matlow questioned Goad about who prepared the agenda item and said public records showed that Thomas Whitley, director of strategic innovation and a former top Dailey aide, created the Word document and sent it to the city manager.

“This item was prepared at my direction ... with my direct involvement, and I believe that fully answers the question,” Goad said.

Commissioner Porter: Agenda item's purpose was to 'condemn and humiliate' commissioners

Porter said it wasn’t appropriate for the agenda item to mention her, her former aide, who joined O’Keefe virtually on his video, and Matlow and his aide, Ryan Ray, who is chair of the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee.

"It’s context,” Goad said. “That’s why it was included.”

But Porter questioned why the trespassing incident came back to the City Commission “at lightning speed” while other requests for information on other items have not. She cited the urban forest master plan and placemaking along Pensacola Street, the site of several high-profile shootings. She noted the city has seen “dozens of shootings” this year alone that are “actually of public interest.”

“If you’re listening today, I hope you know that this is not normal,” Porter told the audience. “This should have been handled by TPD alone. The only purpose of this item and spending taxpayer dollars — your hard-earned money to do it — is to condemn and humiliate Commissioner O’Keefe, Commissioner Matlow, me and my former aide. And it is absolutely embarrassing to witness.”

Williams-Cox said the city is moving forward with important projects, from police headquarters to the south-side transit center and a new Senior Center in the northeast. She said there was “video proof” that the incident occurred.

“No questions or distractions ... will remove the fact that something happened that is abnormal and it was live-streamed and put out there for the world to see,” she said. “You can mock it if you want to mock it. But if little Johnny from the south side had jumped that fence, he’d have been arrested.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Commission debates trespass incident against attorney advice