Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon has been under scrutiny for more than a year now after a bombshell report by Lagniappe Daily of a police call where Kennon was allegedly seen nude on the balcony of a public building assaulting a woman.
Once the story broke, members of the community called on body cam footage of the incident to be released, most notably local attorney C.C. Dixon-Moreno, who currently has a federal lawsuit against Kennon and the city in the dispute.
A recently released ethics complaint shined further light on the tensions behind the scenes, with three sitting council members signing on to the ethics complaint alleging that Kennon threatened them when they suggested releasing the body cam footage.
Wendy Pickering, an area private investigator, spoke during public comments Tuesday to support the position of keeping the body cam footage private, and to address social media grievances against Councilmember Ginger Harrelson. Harrelson is one of the council members who signed the complaint against Kennon.
That led Harrelson’s husband Hunter to shout out “She’s a liar!” during Pickering’s comments, followed by a warning form Kennon that if Hunter interrupted again, he would be escorted out by police.
“Are you going to remove my husband from this meeting?” Harrelson asked Kennon.
“If he interrupts again, he will,” Kennon said.
Hunter Harrelson fired back at Kennon, asking him whether he had met with a private investigator to investigate the council members who had filed the ethics complaint. Kennon said he did not.
Kennon said the social media attention—from Dixon-Moreno and other local outlets ranging from longstanding outlets to newer, online-based platforms—has become a disruptive force in the city.
“I don’t know what is happening in this community,” Kennon said. “I really don’t. It seems like a three-ring circus. I didn’t bring the circus to town. It seems like there are people who are trying to destroy us from within.”
Harrelson pushed once again for the body cam footage to be released, arguing that it would provide the answers being sought and end the situation.
There are connections across many of the people involved; Pickering is currently facing a defamation lawsuit from Dixon-Moreno, for instance.
The drama is unlikely to end any time soon as the myriad of lawsuits and ethics complaints move forward without a clear resolution in sight.
