Flagler Beach Police Being Investigated for Potential Illegal Arrest

The Flagler Beach Police Department is currently under investigation by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office over a potentially wrongful arrest, the FBPD confirmed on Friday. Chief Matt Doughney announced that he’d invited the investigation proactively ‘in the interest of transparency’. The arrest in question occurred on Sunday, March 2nd. Jeffrey Gray was reportedly standing on the sidewalk outside the Funky Pelican restaurant, a popular beach-side business adjacent to the Flagler Beach Pier. He was shown in images from the incident with a sign that said ‘God Bless the Homeless Vets’. He was reportedly carrying a firearm in his pocket. The Potentially Illegal Arrest Employees of the Funky Pelican are said to have called the police about a man who wouldn’t move from the sidewalk in front of their business. “I’d like him trespassed please,” she said. “He’s harassing all of our guests.” The caller told the dispatcher that the man appeared to be homeless. The FBPD responded and requested that Gray move. He wouldn’t. Records show that on Sunday at 11:38 am Gray was booked into the county jail having been charged with armed trespassing. He posted $2,500 bond and was released at 3:18 pm. Video of the arrest depicts Gray asserting his right to stand on a public sidewalk and refuse to provide identification. Both stances are legally sound; in the absence of reasonable suspicion of a crime the city has no grounds to trespass someone from public grounds and citizens have the right to refuse to give identification. “What he’s doing is not technically breaking any laws,” the officer is heard saying to restaurant staff. “But I’ll try to get him out [of here].” The officer attempted to convince Gray to move willingly, which he refused to do. Gray has posted a video to his YouTube channel documenting the arrest from his perspective. The issue with the arrest is that Gray did not appear to be violating any laws with his conduct. There’s currently no indication that he was illegally carrying a firearm (the .380-caliber gun is legal to own with or without a permit), and he was standing on a public sidewalk engaging in constitutionally-protected free speech. The Seventh Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Gray based on the available facts and evidence. Rights and Accountability According to Doughney’s report, Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin is moving to require training for all city staff to familiarize them with citizens’ rights, as well as the duties and boundaries adhered to by public employees. The move may or may not be beneficial in a potential lawsuit from this latest arrest, but it could shield the city from future litigation. City Attorney Drew Smith is engaged in the case and working to prevent an escalation against the city in court. It does not appear that Gray is a stranger to encounters with law enforcement in which their legal authority comes under question. Gray operates the YouTube channel ‘HonorYourOath Civil Rights Investigations’, on which he proclaims himself to be a civil rights investigator and an auditor of both the First and Second amendments to the Constitution. His content has routinely amassed hundreds of thousands of views per video, mostly documenting law enforcement having their scope of authority questioned directly. Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly has questioned Gray’s methodology in the past, as reported by the Palm Coast Observer. “The proper place to dispute a traffic charge is not on social media, where he gets paid to have his videos out there, but in the court system,” Staly was quoted as having said. In that incident, Gray was shown to have given an FCSO deputy the middle finger.