PALM COAST, Fla. – The city of Palm Coast is defending what it calls a list of “difficult people.”
The list was created by city employees, accusing people of various stunts like threatening or harassing city workers or even throwing things at them.
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News 6 put in a records request to receive the list that was briefly mentioned at a recent city council meeting.
There are now 24 people that have been added to this list over the last five years. They aren’t told they’re being added and the city said there’s no way for them to get taken off now.
“The list is there to protect city staff. They have a lot of interactions with the public,” city spokesperson Brittany Kershaw said.
Kershaw said the “difficult list” is supposed to be a tool for city employees who must visit residents’ properties or speak with them. It was started by a city councilman years ago.
“There have been some very dangerous instances where members of the community have attacked city staff, thrown a spear at city staff, chased them with a hammer,” she said.
That spear, which the city has a picture of as part of the list, reportedly came from Gretchen Theodorakis’ house. Her name isn’t on the list but her property is.
“I had no knowledge of it, I had not heard anything,” she said.
She said she doesn’t own weapons and never heard from the sheriff’s office about an incident.
“The only thing I could think of was I had a relative living with me and he was having some mental breakdown issues, again not at all typical of what he would do,” she said.
She said that the relative no longer lives with her.
Now, she wants to know how to get her property off the list. The city said they make the sheriff’s office aware of most incidents.
“Certain incidents would make the person stay for a year, three years, up to indefinitely,” Kershaw said.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office sent News 6 the following statement:
“The FCSO does not have anything to do with this list. If the city reports a crime, then the FCSO will conduct the appropriate investigation. But only after a formal statement is provided to the investigating deputy on the allegations. Being “disgruntled” with the city is not a crime without a corresponding criminal act or threat to commit a criminal act.”