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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Credit card' knife incident at City Council sparks scrutiny over security firm, city contract
A 'credit card' sized knife that made its way past security and into Jacksonville City Council Chambers is raising serious concerns and putting new pressure on the private company paid millions to protect City Hall and other Jacksonville buildings. While the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) is responsible for security inside the Council Chambers, it's First Coast Security (FCS) that guards the rest of the building. Now, following the knife incident on Tuesday, the Mayor's Office is demanding better training, starting with how FCS officers handle weapons like the one discovered after three people were arrested during a disturbance that halted the City Council meeting. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan's sent Action News Jax the following statement about the incident: 'We all have freedom of speech. The time to exercise that right is during the public comment period of City Council meetings. The words we choose matter. Civil discourse should be just that. Civil. If we truly want to solve problems, we have to find a way to speak respectfully to each other. 'A small 'credit card' knife went undetected in a wallet during the standard security screening process for last night's City Council meeting. Moving forward, we have directed First Coast Security to train their officers on this style of concealed weapon, and to conduct extra inspections of all personal items going into the Council Chambers. 'We are also conducting a full security review for City Hall - including potential equipment upgrades, staffing changes, and vendor options - as we get closer to the current security vendor contract expiring in September 2025.' Action News Jax's Ben Becker obtained the city's security contract and discovered that First Coast Security can receive up to $4.7 million per year for its services guarding multiple city buildings, including City Hall. That agreement was signed in 2022 under former Mayor Lenny Curry. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] The city has until Aug. 1 to decide whether to renew the contract for another year. When Becker reached out for comment on the knife incident and potential changes to training, a spokesperson for First Coast Security declined to speak, citing the need for more information. Meanwhile, there are new questions about past security practices, specifically, a potentially illegal gun registry maintained at City Hall. Action News Jax first broke the story that FCS officers were logging the names of people legally carrying concealed weapons into the building. That kind of registry was banned in Florida on July 1, 2023 -- the same day Deegan took office. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Deegan's office said the policy was created under the previous administration of Curry's, not hers. In response, the city's Office of General Counsel has hired a law firm -- Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe -- to defend against any legal fallout, as nine current and former city workers have been subpoenaed by the State Attorney's Office. The contract allows the firm to earn up to $15,000, with three specific attorneys approved to work on the case. One of those attorneys is Henry Coxe, a well-known criminal defense attorney and the father-in-law of Jacksonville's General Counsel, Michael Fackler, who made the decision to hire Coxe's firm. As previously reported on May 5, that connection is drawing scrutiny, though city officials insist the hiring followed proper protocols. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Knife allegedly brought into Jacksonville City Council meeting prompts security changes
A knife allegedly brought into Jacksonville City Council chambers during Tuesday night's council meeting is raising security concerns. The man accused of bringing it in, Conor Cauley, is charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. His attorney argued during his first appearance, that the knife is a pocket knife, and therefore not considered a weapon under state law, but Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters disagrees. 'A knife that can stick someone and cause major damage to them is a weapon, and I think most people agree with that. I think the people watching and listening would agree with that,' Waters said. While people can legally carry concealed weapons into city hall, state law prohibits weapons from being carried into city council meetings. Because of that distinction in state law, additional security measures are in place to screen people before entering City Council meetings. How the knife allegedly made it past those measures is unclear, but city officials are already looking into potential security changes. 'I believe it would be prudent to sit down with JSO and see if we need to make any adjustments so we can keep our citizens of Jacksonville safe,' Council President Randy White (R-District 12) said in a statement sent to Action News Jax. Waters noted JSO only provides security inside council chambers. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 'We're gonna make sure our city council leaders are safe at all times,' Waters said. The screening of attendees is conducted outside the chambers by First Coast Security. 'Moving forward, we have directed First Coast Security to train their officers on this style of concealed weapon, and to conduct extra inspections of all personal items going into the Council Chambers,' Mayor Donna Deegan said in an emailed statement. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Waters expressed relief in the fact Tuesday night's incident didn't result in anyone being injured. 'Knife wounds, those things are very, very dangerous. So, I know the mayor is going to look at it and she's going to address that with her folks over there at City Hall to make sure that they do everything they can to make sure that doesn't happen again,' Waters said. In addition to screening people's personal items when entering council meetings, the mayor also said a full security review of City Hall is being conducted, 'including potential equipment upgrades, staffing changes, and vendor options - as we get closer to the current security vendor contract expiring in September 2025.' Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How first criminal investigation of city since Deegan became mayor started and what's at stake
State Attorney Melissa Nelson's investigation of how the city of Jacksonville kept written records listing the names of gun owners who entered City Hall and the Yates Building marks the first criminal investigation of actions by the city since Mayor Donna Deegan took office in July 2023. Nelson launched the probe on April 22 and has not yet delivered any conclusion in the ongoing investigation. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has separately said if the allegations are true, it would be a "serious breach of Florida law." Here is a rundown of what the case involves and what the potential consequences would be. What started the investigation? On April 21, a member of Florida Carry, a nonprofit gun rights organization, went to the downtown Yates Building, which houses the county tax collector's office and the property appraiser's office, and found that people carrying concealed firearms must provide their names in order to continue past the security checkpoint. The Florida Carry member realized the requirement to provide identifying information such as a drivers license conflicts with a longstanding state law, said Eric Friday, general counsel for Florida Carry. He said he understands gun owners were asked to give their names, drivers license numbers and the make and model of their firearms in order to enter the Yates Building and also City Hall. Both buildings have security checkpoints staffed by First Coast Security through a contract with the city. "Florida Carry knows for a fact that on the table over there in City Hall and on the table at the entrance of the Yates Building were green notebooks that said 'weapons and firearms logs,' and that those logs had information of gun owners in them," Friday said. He said the Florida Carry member recorded the encounter at the Yates Building. "We believe in the right to bear arms and the right of Floridians to have their private information (remain) private," Friday said. "And we will continue to encourage the state attorney, the attorney general and any other lawful investigation to occur to find out who is behind this." Security measures to check visitors for hidden weapons were added at Jacksonville City Hall in December 2007. What law is at stake? Florida has had a law on its books since 2004 that says state agencies and local governments "may not knowingly and willfully keep or cause to be kept any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms or any list, record or registry of the owners of those firearms." The law says such record-keeping "is not a law enforcement tool" and is illegal because it can be used to profile, harass or abuse "law-abiding citizens based on their choice to own a firearm and exercise their Second Amendment right." What is the punishment for violating the law? Jacksonville General Counsel Michael Fackler told the City Council's Rules Committee at its May 5 meeting the case involves "potentially significant sanctions." The criminal penalty is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine up to $5,000. The State Attorney's Office determines if there was a criminal violation of the law by a person or entity, according to the state statute. City Council member Nick Howland said at the Rules Committee the State Attorney issued investigative subpoenas to the city on April 22, which is the day after the Florida Carry member went to the Yates Building. In addition, the state attorney general can bring a civil action seeking a fine of up to $5 million against a government entity if the court finds evidence the list, record or registry was "compiled or maintained with the knowledge or complicity of the management of the governmental entity." "My office is looking into this allegation and we will be in contact with local officials to ensure those responsible are held accountable," Uthmeier said in a May 1 post on X. Can gun owners carry firearms into City Hall and the Yates Building? Yes. State law for years has allowed gunowners to bring weapons and firearms into city buildings if they have a state-issued concealed carry license. Starting July 1, 2023, gunowners could bring concealed weapons into city buildings even if they do not have a concealed carry license but meet certain requirements. State law puts some buildings off-limits to concealed weapons such as sheriff's offices, police agencies and courthouses. The law also bars carrying a concealed weapon or firearm into a local government meeting so at Jacksonville City Hall, a gunowner can carry a gun into the building but not into council chambers when City Council is meeting. In the case of the city's gun logs, Friday said the city's policy denied gun owners the ability to carry concealed weapons into city buildings as they are legally entitled to do unless they first agreed to provide the personal information for written records. "That is a criminal offense in in the state of Florida, and we know for a fact that people who attempted to enter without being willing to disclose information that's protected by law were turned away and not allowed to conduct business with the city," he said When did the written record-keeping begin for the gun logs? That remains an open question. The mayor's office said in a May 2 statement the "policy in question was created and written" before she took office on July 1, 2023. "In light of the issue that has been raised, we are undergoing a review of all policy directives, particularly those from the previous administration that were left for us on their way out," the statement said. "Mayor Deegan and the leadership of her administration fully support constitutionally protected rights." Lenny Curry, who was mayor before Deegan, responded that assertions he had "anything to do with this 'policy'" are false and an attempt by the Deegan administration to shift blame. "No employee within my organization kept and logged citizens exercising constitutional rights in City Hall," he said. "Deegan can't say the same. This is why they are under investigation." How many names were written on the gun owner lists? That also is a question that has not been publicly answered because the gun logs are part of the investigation by prosecutors. The investigative subpoena issued by the State Attorney's Office sought documents that pertain to the complaint about the lists, Fackler told the Rules Committee. He said the city turned over those documents. Friday said Florida Carry hopes that none of the gun logs remain in the possession of the city and the State Attorney will be able to use the subpoenaed documents to find out "when this started and hopefully, who started it as well." How did the investigation of the firearm logs become public? The existence of the State Attorney investigation became public nine days after the city received the subpoenas when Howland, who is chairman of the Rules Committee, told Action News on May 1 about the probe into the gun logs. Howland said at the Rules Committee meeting he began looking into the matter on April 29 after someone who asked to remain confidential contacted him. He said that source was likely "motivated by the fact that none of this had yet come to light" and Jacksonville residents deserved to know about it. Jacksonville City Councilman Nick Howland asked what the University of Florida would do with the Prime Osborne Convention Center for the new UF campus in downtown Jacksonville during Jacksonville Downtown Investment Authority brunch Thursday morning April 24, 2025 at Jacksonville City Hall in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] He said he spent two days researching the matter by speaking with the State Attorney's Office, First Coast Security, the city's Office of General Counsel, the Property Appraiser's office and the Tax Collector's office, members of the Curry administration, and an attorney with expertise in constitutional issues. "When I gathered enough information to confirm conclusively that state law had been broken, in my opinion, I decided it was then time for transparency," Howland said. "That's when I went to the press." What law firm is defending the city? After getting the complaint on April 21, the city retained the Bedell Firm. The firm's partners include Hank Coxe, who is one of the leading criminal defense attorneys in the state. Coxe is the father-in-law of Fackler, a connection Fackler told the Rules Committee about when council members asking him about how and why the city retained the Bedell Firm. Fackler said the family connection had nothing to with the city's decision to retain Bedell. Will City Council launch its own investigation? City Council has the authority to launch its own investigation with subpoena power but at least for now, Nelson has asked City Council to hold off. City Council member Ron Salem said during the Rules Committee meeting that council should form a special investigative committee just as it did for an in-depth accounting of what happened during the attempted sale of JEA in 2019. He said doing the same for examining the gun logs would show council is consistent, regardless of whether the mayor is a Democrat as Deegan is or a Republican as Curry is. "That was a Republican mayor," Salem said of the JEA investigative committee. "We went after a Republican administration, but it was the right thing to do." He said the only reason for council not pursing an investigation would be if Nelson asked council not to take that course. Later that day, Nelson sent a letter to City Council saying she was making a formal request for council to "delay or pause any effort to form such an investigative body." Q&A with State Attorney Melissa Nelson: Here's what she had to say about several topics Howland said he agrees with Nelson's request. "I commend the state attorney for treating this potentially criminal matter with the seriousness it deserves and will do everything I can to ensure law enforcement has the space and support it needs to conduct a thorough investigation into the Deegan administration's firearm registry," he said in a statement. "Jacksonville deserves the truth." This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Details emerge in investigation of Jacksonville gun owner list
