Jeff Gray, the 55-year-old St. Augustine activist wrongfully arrested outside the Funky Pelican restaurant in Flagler Beach on a trespassing charge last March, is seeking $200,000 in compensation from the city, or he said he will sue.
The $200,000 claim may not be all that Gray will seek.
Gray’s attorney, Eric Friday, of Jacksonville’s Kingry and Friday, wrote City Manager Dale Martin on Nov. 5 with the pre-suit settlement offer. Under law, those who intend to sue a local government are required to send a pre-suit notice first.
“Mr. Gray is willing to resolve this matter pre-suit for a settlement of $200,000.00, removal of his DNA from any databases, and an administrative expunction of this arrest pursuant to” state law, Friday wrote the city manager.
The potential lawsuit would pursue both a claim of a civil rights violation and a firearms preemption violation, the attorney wrote. Preemption is when a state law prohibits local governments from enforcing ordinances that are stricter than the state’s measure. Seized at the time of his arrest, Gray’s gun may not have been returned in a timely way.
City Commissioner Scott Spradley was not surprised by the $200,000 figure: it’s the statutory cap on such demands.
Commissioner Eric Cooley was dismayed.
“This approach is unfortunate,” he said. “My understanding is he does this to raise awareness of rights citizens have, which is commendable and I have a lot of respect for. The country needs people out there doing this. Another good example locally is ‘The Armed Fisherman.’ The city has done numerous things to make changes proactively to ensure nothing like that ever happens again. I would hope that he would work with the city directly on solutions vs. use things simply as a payday. If there were costs on his end, then let’s make everything right with him. Let’s fix things together. Then let’s as a city make donations to homeless veteran programs he is supporting. I can get behind that 100 percent. Anything outside of that really cheapens and undercuts the true cause and benefits of what he is fighting for.”
Gray had been standing on the sidewalk across from the entrance to the Funky Pelican on March 2, holding a cardboard sign that asked for support for veterans. A Funky Pelican employee asked him to move further down the sidewalk. Gray declined, saying–correctly–that he was on the right-of-way and was not interfering with anyone. The Funky Pelican is a private business, leasing public property.
Based on a video of his arrest posted on Gray’s 14-year-old HonorYourOath YouTube channel, Gray–an activist who routinely tests and challenges local restrictions or misinterpretations of certain rights, including free speech and firearms possession–did not appear to be disruptive or interfere with the restaurant’s customers or anyone else walking by. Restaurant employees, however, called police and asked to have him trespassed, claiming–without evidence–that he was interfering with clients.
The first officer who responded, Emmett Luttrell, handled the situation correctly, letting restaurant employees that there was no cause for a trespass and going no further than urging Gray to move down a certain distance. Sgt. Austin Yelvington went further, arresting Gray when he declined to move down, seizing Gray’s gun, and at one point shoving him into a police car. He was charged with felony armed trespass–a charge swiftly dropped by the State Attorney’s Office in a reflection of the officer’s–not Gray’s–transgression.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office investigated Yelvington and found he’d violated the city’s arrest procedures. He served a three-day suspension without pay. Police Chief Matt Doughney issued a public apology to Gray and outlined various steps he said the department took to correct any potential future mishandlings of encounters with the public on public property.
The city was in an untenable situation. It could not remain silent about a wrongful arrest or offer a cursory response, but a more meaningful response and explicit apology would also fuel a legal cause of action. The city attorney in August also recommended amending the ordinance addressing trespassing authority.
So knowing Gray’s record, the city knew that there would be a lawsuit, or the threat of a lawsuit. The only question was what Gray would seek. The question has now been partly answered–partly, because the claim he is seeking regarding the seizure of the gun and its delayed return is not specified.
“You should be aware as it relates to firearms preemption issues and the unlawful retention of Mr. Gray’s firearm,” Gray’s attorney wrote Martin, “there is no cap on the attorney’s fees available and damages for that violation would be in addition to any sovereign immunity limits.” He added: “The city may also have additional liability related to a failure to train the officers based on the results of the investigation conducted. My client will seek all available remedies under Florida and federal law.”
In other words, the $200,000 claim is only the opening salvo, though it may also be an invitation to the city to end all claims now before it gets more expensive. All commissioners and senior staffers at the city were informed of the claim on Thursday.
Thomas Hutson says
Commissioner Cooley,
You cannot be serious! This entire incident could have been avoided with training on 1st Amendment rights. Secondly , who or what legal entity approved that lease agreement with Funky Pelican to begin with?
You cannot lease public right-of-way.
$200,000 is a cheap settlement, pay it and count yourself lucky !
Jim says
Seems Mr. Gray is more interested in cashing in on the incident than any alleged concerns about infringement on his rights.
He’s lost all credibility with me.
I hope Flagler Beach fights and I hope they win. What Eric Cooley said was very reasonable. In a just world it would be enough but we live in a world of greed.
I hope Gray gets absolutely nothing.
Unalienable says
Gray is 100% in the right. Guaranteed he will win.
Good citizen says
Are you serious? The police department even admitted what they did was wrong. Clear an absolute violation of his civil rights. You can’t arrest someone for trespassing on public property without a crime. There was no crime committed and he was arrested. He actually has won a lot of lawsuits and I’m pretty sure he donates all of the winnings or proceeds to charity. This was one of the worst ones because he’s usually not shoved into the back of a police car. The fact that you hope that the police department wins tells me you’re either very ignorant or just an a hole. And by the way, there’s no way they’re going to win because they’ve already admitted wrongdoing. All that matters now is how much the settlement is going to be.
Spreading Wisdom says
Greed? Nope. Teaching a lesson. Perhaps you should watch the video.
shark says
Good for him. He deserves every penny and more. This is what happens when you have uneducated thugs as police officers. They should garnish Yelvington’s pay and demote him to civilian !!!!
Mort says
Has he done this before? Have there been other suits? The amount is too high, Flagler has no money, unless they are insured. He is bribing cities to stay away, a racket. If that is the case, he needs to be fined and his attorney disbarred.
Sadly, this appears to be the current state of our nation.
Billy B says
Mort – What part of they violated the Constitution that they were sworn to uphold don’t you understand ???
Mort says
IF he has a reputation for for doing this, it’s a racket and not a civil right. What don’t you understand?
Roger says
How is it a racket? All the cops need to do is respect people’s civil rights. Let this burn them until every cop’s ego is sufficiently deflated. Take it out of the cop’s pension fund.
Spreading Wisdom says
Rights aren’t rackets. Sad that you fail to grasp this. Police simply need to do their job correctly. You need education. Do better.
Adam Frank says
The Florida, and US Constitution is sacrosanct, Jeff Gray should be applauded for doing what he does.
JimboXYZ says
All they had to do was ignore him and just let him get bored on his own for standing around on the sidewalk. Being as obese as he is, that was a matter of time before his ankles or back would’ve been screaming in pain and he would’ve gone back to St Augustine. Instead they gave him the opening of a ridiculous lawsuit, to try to & settle out of court for $ 200K. Nice haul for a sum of money for a protest that nobody is really quite sure what he was there to protest. All of this stupidity over a “Support Homeless Veterans” sign by an obese old man blocking the sidewalk ?
The money for any settlement should come out of the Flagler Beach Police Budget. Waste of resources that he whole ordeal & event was & has become, potentially will become. Flagler Beach PD fell for this hook, line & sinker, the city is on the hook as Gray’s fish & he caught a whopper. Put me on the jury, I’ll send him back to St Augustine with nothing beyond wasting his time, with just his d*ck in his hand. Tired of these types baiting with nonsense. When any community gets past the day he shows up, does he ever go back there ? And here we are 8 months later dealing with his mental illness, only it’s a $ 200K shakedown of the city.
Spreading Wisdom says
Funny how you only catch stupid cops with this bait. Respect rights. Do better.
Just a thought says
I’m sorry, Commissioner Cooley, but the way your officer pushed Mr. Gray into the patrol car was wholly unnecessary. Yelvington did not care one bit about Mr. Gray’s safety or well-being. The way he treated Mr. Gray should have been cause for termination.
Robot says
Come on Cooley. You want him to play fair but you’re henchmen didn’t. And if l understand correctly Jeff is one in many, many who have had their rights violated in Flagler Beach. The others just didn’t know what the law was or didn’t have the means to fight back legally. So don’t attack Jeff because it’s time for you guys to pay up. His initial stance was freedom of speech but now that his rights were violated and his DNA was taken and his gun was confiscated and he was bullied. Now it’s turned into something personal.
Open The Checkbook says
If memory serves, Yelvington made a comment about this not being his first rodeo. If subsequent discovery were to establish such conduct was a pattern or practice of the FBPD, this could get much worse. Settle the claim. FBPD may then commence an aggressive ticketing campaign to recoup the funds.
Tony says
A clear violation of his rights.
Peter wentworth says
I’m thinking that Flagler beach should make a good faith gesture…
How about firing both yelling ton and the police chief and terminating funky pelican’s lease.
Maybe that would encourage Jeff to agree to a lesser amount
Mort says
Sure…kill a local business. Does that make everybody feel better? Is that what they do where you came from?
Customers have rights, too. How many did he harass while he was standing there? Looks like there might be more than one suit here, if we’re lucky.
GW says
Someone tell Sgt. Austin Yelvington that ICE is hiring. They violate US citizens constitutional rights on a daily basis and with his actions and attitude he would be a perfect fit.
dave says
They’re not citizens
Kennan says
Several are citizens, and the lack of due process? Going to court dates that encourage immigrants doing the right thing and arresting them there? Nice try Dave. Law and order?
Ray W. says
Actually, Dave, GW is correct and you are not.
Many U.S. citizens have been detained by ICE agents. And detention is not the same thing as arrest.
After hours and sometimes days of detention for some of these U.S. citizens, many are released without charges being filed against them. In those cases where charges are filed, many U.S. citizens soon see the charges dropped.
ProPublica released the results of a study of ICE actions thus far this year. ProPublica found that government agencies don’t keep track of detentions of U.S. citizens by ICE agents, so it had to glean through individual records to find out what happened. Over the first 9 months of the Trump administration, ProPublica found that over 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by ICE agents, including almost 20 children, two of whom have cancer.
One young U.S. citizen was threatened at gun-point, pepper-sprayed and physically struck by ICE agents, before being detained; he was filming ICE agents who were looking for a relative.
A 79-year-old American citizen was knocked over and kneed while on the ground at his car wash. He suffered broken ribs and was held for 12 hours without medical care. He was a recovering heart surgery patient.
Since the government does not document this type of incident, ProPublica asserts that the number they found is likely underreported.
Make of this what you will.
Skibum says
This day could have been foreseen by a blind person. He should be compensated for false arrest by an idiot police supervisor who should have had his stripes literally torn off of his uniform shirt for playing supervisor without the proper brain cells to accomplish the task.
I suspect the city will refuse to pay, Gray will get a competent attorney and file his lawsuit against Flagler Beach, it will then result in a prolonged back and forth, but before it actually goes to trial the city will be prodded to agree to a settlement and some monetary compensation in order to try to save face and prevent a jury from awarding him an even larger sum of money.
And Flagler Beach city officials, including the police chief, may never learn a damn thing.
Greg says
He found a city dumb enough to violate his rights. Did Flagler Beach learn anything here?
DaleL says
Jeff Gray has a right to have his arrest completely erased, as though it never happened. He has a right to have his firearm returned. He also has a right to be fairly compensated for his time in detention. The police Chief has issued a public apology to Gray. The Officer has been disciplined.
However, Gray is an activist with a long running YouTube channel. His demand for the maximum amount of money allowed by law just seems excessive to me. It makes me think that he is involved in activism for the money (greed) and not for the good of the community.
The Deputy is reported to have lost 3 days of pay over this incident. Perhaps 10 times the Deputy’s forfeited pay would be a fair compensation? According to GovSalaries dot com, Yelvington had an annual salary of $96,900 in 2024. That’s about $47 per hour. So: $47 times 8 hours/day times three days multiplied by 10 = $11,280. That is quite a lot less than $200,000.
Spreading Wisdom says
Three days pay lost was not nearly enough. Should have been 30, because it wasn’t his first rodeo. Must be nice to make 100k and not know the basics of your job.
Concerned Citizen says
Regardless of motive. It’s nice to see someone push back against these petty City Governments.
Flagler Beach is far from perfect. And needs a reminder of that. Anyone remember Cooley’s DV case? And the young lady that got run out of town? After the lawyers started going after her? Then the Staly good Ol boy system stepped in. And made sure he was OK with no regard to the victim.
Anyone remember Rick Belhemure casually running over a Cyclist? After having a few drinks at the bar? Again the Staly good ol boy network circled wagons. And Rick was OK. No regard to the victim. No regard to state law. Swept right under the rug.
Yellvington a sworn Officer with even higher standards. Bad arrest. Violates rights. Gets a slap on the wrist. Swept under rug.
All of these big construction projects going unchecked?
I could go on. But the citizens of FB keep electing these same representatives. So that means you condone their behavior. There was no outcry. Or public pressure to have Yellvington. So that means you all were OK with it.
When constituents become sheep. Your elected become wolves. And will keep preying. Time for change Flagler Beach. But that’s on you.
Skibum says
My very first taste of the pettiness of Flagler Beach occurred not long after retiring to Flagler County 14 years ago. We loved driving over the intracoastal bridge and sitting along A1A watching what was going on at the beach. Since my other half is disabled and confined to a wheelchair, his access to the beach itself was nonexistent.
One day, we actually got out of the car and I wheeled him down the wooden walkway ramp next to the Funky Pelican to the sand where we stopped near a woman who had a bunch of kites. I saw a couple of kites flying that beautiful day, and it reminded us both of being on the beach at Ocean Shores, WA where nearly every day you could see many kites of every description flying by people enjoying the nice ocean breeze.
Anyway, the lady with the kites came over to us an asked if my other half would like to fly a kite. I was grateful she had asked, but told her he is disabled and only has the use of one hand. She was so nice to us, and although she was in business and apparently rented out the kites on the beach, she offered to help get the kite in the air and just let either one of us hold the handle attached to the kite string so we could have some enjoyment. We did so for a little while and he really had a good time.
While standing there, I was talking with the kite lady, telling her that we missed all of the kites flying on the beach in WA State, and I wondered why we didn’t see more kites flying along the beach here. She told me that she was constantly harassed by Flagler Beach city officials and threatened with citations because the police didn’t approve of her kite business. She was nearly in tears the whole time, telling me she was about to move away from Flagler Beach specifically because of all of the stress dealing with Flagler Beach over her kite business.
Really now, going to beach communities where there is usually a nice breeze blowing, seeing people out on the beach enjoying themselves and all of the kites in the air is one of life’s small pleasures… but apparently not tolerated in good ‘ole Flagler Beach, FL. Years later, I miss that kind woman with her kites. It was not long after our encounter that I never saw her again.
To this day, is there anyone out there who comes to Flagler Beach and sees people flying kites along the sand??? Why in the world Flagler Beach is so against something that should be a normal, wonderful beach activity is beyond comprehension! It really gave me a sour taste in my mouth about this idiotic beachside community, and city officials like their police supervisor in this incident have reinforced over the years my unfavorable impression ever since. Wow, great job, Flagler Beach.
Jafo says
I want a job in Flagler County as a cop.! Damn Flagler Beach,Bunnell and the Sheriffs office are all corrupt as can be. The Sheriffs office has had Deputies intoxicated starting fights in bars,drunk driving shooting assault rifles in n their backyard. Flagler Beach gives you a 3 day vacation for violating someone’s civil rights. This has been an issue in Flagler Beach for years. What is it going to take for these elected officials and city/county leaders to pull their head out of their ASS and do the job that they were hired to do? It all starts with the administration.
JOE says
great.!!!!!! the road pirates should be fired
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
I love how articles like this bring out morons like jimbo to talk big about “what he’d do.” It sure seems to me that this could have all been prevented had the police simply not violated his rights. I know that police are trained to just assume that qualified immunity will protect them from doing whatever it is that they want to do, and since a smart cop is a bored cop they only hire from the bottom of the barrel, so this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, right? What ever happened to Bobby MacDonald, by the way? Or Robert Milstead? Anyway, enjoy the lawsuit and I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of them in the future.
ric Santo says
Jimbo is surely a MO-ron but he is allowed to enjoy his first amendment rights on this site. Flagler Live does discriminate against MO-rons and I think Jimbo should send a nice Harry and David gift basket to Pierre!
Jimbo should also revel in the fact that he won’t be arrested by this administration because they are proud supporters of MO-rons. He might even get a Harry and David gift basket from the orange turd as he is one of the last of the fleeing rats of the MAG-ot supporters here in Flagler county!
t.o. Doug says
You know what they say: “play stupid games, win $200,000.”
Smoker says
Professional agitator. That’s all Gray is. A clown with nothing better to do than be a nuisance and claim it’s his right. Sounds to me like he needs a little Porkys treatment. Looks like ya got a broken tail light.. that there’s a fine here in Flagler County…etc.
Roger says
Sounds like you love the taste of boot leather. Lucky for you there appears to be plenty to go around in the “free” state of Florida.
Spreading Wisdom says
Sounds like it was the Sgt that was the clown here. Do better.
hjcinc says
Was Yelvington charged with assault and battery or anything else. I would have been go figure.
Low star number says
As a retired FCSO deputy sheriff I can honestly say that the Flagler Beach Police Department is a stain on law enforcement. The arrogance of the Sergeant who made this arrest gives all cops a bad name and the fact that he wasn’t demoted or fired for unlawful arrest speaks volumes on the condition of the department. Makes me sick.
Kath says
I take it no one has seen, youtube on Schaffer. He sure did retire fast. At least Bunnell police officer new the law ! Thanks for that, however there is a real problem here. All of flagler needs training…or start a pay out account 🙄 all employees need training, I do mean all !!!