PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – A town commission meeting in Pembroke Park came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday night.
That’s because Commissioner Geoffrey Jacobs called the Broward Sheriff’s Office, claiming Mayor Ashira Mohammed had a gun.
The mayor’s purse was searched in the commission chambers by Pembroke Park Police Chief Ra Shana Dabney-Donovan after Mohammed requested she do so publicly after already being searched privately. No gun was found.
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” Mohammed said of Jacobs’ accusation, after the search turned up no weapon.
Dabney-Donovan then explained why she had to stop the meeting.
“As a police chief, as a police officer, when I hear certain alert words, I had to come and disrupt the meeting,” Dabney-Donovan told commissioners. “So I apologize for the disruption of the meeting.”
Earlier in the meeting, Mohammed and Jacobs had a heated argument over his lack of following the rules when it comes to the time speaking.
Jacobs was previously the focus of an independent investigation that found he created a hostile work environment in the town. He has sparred with several town department heads who have since resigned, as well as his fellow commissioners.
Also during Wednesday’s meeting, Jacobs called for town clerk Marlene Martell to be suspended without pay, accusing her of sending an anonymous letter to Local 10 News and commissioners showing unpermitted work Jacobs did on his home. Jacobs was cited by the town for the unpermitted work.
Martell fired back, denying the claim.
Jacobs has claimed no permits are needed to do the work.
He did not respond to Local 10 News’ request for comment on Wednesday.