A local politician in a South Florida town is under fire after being accused of harassing the Pembroke Park mayor, Ashira Mohammed.
Pembroke Park Commissioner Geoffrey Jacobs allegedly spread rumors, accusing the mayor of stealing money, and even went so far as to falsely report to the Broward Sheriff’s Office that she had a firearm during a public meeting on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 8.
“It has come to my attention that the police have been called because there is an allegation by the commissioner that I have a weapon on me, particularly that I have a gun on me,” said Mayor Mohammed during the meeting.
Because of the report, law enforcement was called to the commission chambers to investigate his false claims.
“So, with that, I’m going to allow the chief to search my purse, on the record, so that everyone can see,” the mayor said.
“As a police chief, as a police officer, when I hear certain alert words, I had to come and disrupt the meeting. So I apologize for the disruption of the meeting,” Pembroke Park Police Chief Ra Shana Dabney-Donovan told commissioners after conducting the search, according to Local 10 News.
Dabney-Donovan conducted a search of Mayor Mohammed’s purse and person, first privately and then in a public setting, to be transparent as she debunked the firearm claim. The mayor willingly acquiesced to the search to prove she did not have a weapon but went on to blast the commissioner for leveling false accusations against her just to malign her character.
“You have gone around telling people I’ve stolen money. You’ve gone around telling people, I’m going to jail,” the mayor said. “You’ve lied and accused people of having affairs on this dais and it needs to stop… We are constantly being beat down by one person on this stage.”
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Mohammed said about his accusation of her having a gun. “At this point, you need to seek professional help.”
Jacobs, who had announced during that meeting that he’d called the sheriff’s office but didn’t offer the attendees a reason for his call, had nothing to say in response to Mohammed’s denunciations of him.
The two had gotten into a heated argument earlier in the meeting about his ability to control himself and follow the set rules for speaking. Jacobs has referred the press to his lawyers for any questions about the Nov. 8 episode.
“The audience was packed with police officers, but for some reason, he claimed he had a credible fear for his life from me and that I had a firearm on me,” Mohammed later said to WSVN, adding, “This isn’t his first allegation against me. He’s filed numerous reports with the ethics commission, the state attorney, the [Office of Inspector General]. It’s been consistent for three years of just countless, baseless, allegations.”
According to his critics, this is not the first political antic the former mayor has launched to get under the skin of his political foes. This year, city officials commissioned an independent investigation into Jacobs over complaints he engaged in such toxic discourse that caused some of the town’s department heads and other commissioners to resign rather than work with him while he was mayor of the town.
At the same meeting where Mohammed’s bag was searched, he called for town clerk Marlene Martell to be suspended without pay, accusing her of sending an anonymous letter to the press and commissioners to show that he had done unpermitted work on his home after being cited.
Although the investigation into Jacobs found he created a “hostile, volatile, toxic workplace,” according to WLPG, he is still permitted to serve as a commissioner for the people who elected him.
