The City of Orange Beach denied Gulf Coast Media's request for video footage from a police response to a domestic violence 911 call made last year, which has circulated this election season.

Orange Beach City Clerk and Procurement Officer Renee Eberly said in the emailed response that the city's policy to not release body camera footage is supported by the state Supreme Court in Something Extra Publishing Inc. v. Mack (2021).

The city statement referred to Alabama Code 12-21-3.1(b), which states, "Law enforcement investigative reports and related investigative material are not public records."

Last year's police response, as previously reported by GCM, was to an office space at the city's Coastal Resources building. Mobile-based Lagniappe reporters Rob Holbert and Kyle Hamrick raised questions in a July 8 article about Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon's use of the office space and whether he was involved in the domestic incident.

They attribute "multiple former and current city employees with knowledge of the situation" in saying police body camera footage from responding officers shows "officers pounding on that second-story office door" before a man from behind the door" loudly says, 'This is Tony Kennon.'"

Kennon told Gulf Coast Media he does use the office mentioned and said it is also used by city council, city administration and the city school system.

Kennon's name did not appear in the police reports. A supplemental report indicated an officer contacted an "alleged victim Ms. Kennon" four days after the incident as a welfare check.

After requesting access to records from the 911 call, including body camera footage, C.C. Dixon-Moreno, an Orange Beach resident, filed a civil lawsuit against the city's mayor and other municipal staff members for not giving her the footage and documents.

On July 25, she filed a complaint against Mayor Tony Kennon, soon-to-retire Chief of Police Steve Brown, City Attorney Jamie Logan, City Clerk Renee Eberly and City Administrator and Finance Director Ford Handley. Her claim against Handley is "alleged, though unverified."

Dixon-Moreno told GCM she decided to pursue the suit due to a delay in a five-business-day deadline she set to release body camera footage and incident report she had requested from the city, though public records law offers a longer timeline.

"Transparency is a legal obligation, not a discretionary favor," she said.

According to the state's public records law, a public officer must acknowledge a public records request within 10 business days of receiving a request. A requestor to an executive-branch agency should wait two business days for an acknowledgement. A "substantive response," with either the records requested, a timeline for procurement or a denial with reasons stated, must then be given within 15 business days, though extensions can be made in 15-day increments with written notice.

This is not the only case of body camera footage being withheld, though other recent cases deal with a much more serious subject.

The family of an 18-year-old who was killed by police at a soccer park near Birmingham last month has sparked debate on the topic of body camera footage when the police department has said it won't show the footage to the teen's family.

The state Supreme Court case that ruled all police investigative material can be hidden from the public was made four years ago, and a state law was passed in 2023 that says they can choose whether to show footage to families.

"There is no mechanism to force law enforcement to produce the footage to family or anyone else," J. Evans Bailey, attorney for the Alabama Press Association, told AL.com regarding the case of Jabari Peoples. "This can and probably has led to situations where law enforcement will only voluntarily release footage when they think it makes them look good or supports their version of events."

Bills filed by Democratic state legislators to make body camera footage public record have not been successful.

MORE ON RESIDENT'S COMPLAINT

Dixon-Moreno attached four pre-suit letters concerning communication she has had with the city.

Exhibit B, sent on July 15, is a letter from Dixon-Moreno to Kennon, City Attorney Logan and soon-to-retire Police Chief Brown concerning a public records request relating to the domestic incident.

In the letter, she requested full access to body camera footage, in-car and dashboard cameras used on the scene and all "metadata logs, audit trails and CAD radio traffic" associated with the incident.

She said she received no response to the email and filed the request by email and certified mail.

"Alabama's Public Records Act does not require use of the city's online form," she said, "it reflects 'may' and not 'shall,' and I will not allow a portal to delay lawful access to the people during an important election."

GCM filed the similar request via the Orange Beach website's public records request forms, which resulted in the statement of denial.

As previously reported by GCM, the City of Orange Beach released a statement on July 17 stating an internal review surrounding the police response to the 911 call has now been initiated.

Though more details were not provided on the incident and what will be investigated, the statement reads that the review will examine "adherence to department policies, officer training, operational responses and circumstances surrounding police response to the subject call."

"The City of Orange Beach is aware of public interest surrounding police response to an alleged incident of domestic violence on city property on or about Sept. 2, 2024," the statement reads. "While police investigations, personnel matters nor allegations of domestic violence are discussed publicly, the City of Orange Beach does take all such allegations very seriously and is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all individuals in our community."

In Exhibit A of her letter, which was sent on July 11, Dixon-Moreno sent a letter to Kennon and Logan via email and certified mail stating she had been blocked by Kennon on his official mayoral Facebook page.

She claims this violated her First Amendment rights, citing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lindke v. Freed (2024).

She told Kennon and Logan they had 48 hours to unblock her account and to issue written confirmation of her restored access. The complaint stated her access to the page was restored after about 47 hours.

In Exhibit C, she filed another request for public records via letter to Eberly, the city clerk, Kennon, Logan and Brown. Her request was for Orange Beach Police Department (OBPD) vehicle GPS and AVL logs between July 21, 2024, and July 20, 2025.

She said this was due to allegations concerning Kennon's use of OBPD vehicles.

Kennon previously told GCM his use of such vehicles was vetted by the ethics commission.

He also stated how use of city vehicles including Coastal Resources boats were allowed for him to check on police forces or even the marine division.

"It was vetted by the ethics commission that that was in the performance of me doing my job," he previously said.

In her Exhibit C letter, issued July 21, Dixon-Moreno gave the city a 365-day response period for the information on the use of supervisor vehicles.

In Exhibit D, also sent on July 21, she sent a letter to Eberly, Kennon, Logan and City Administrator Handley requesting information on city personnel related to Kennon or one another.

She alleges reports exist surrounding city payroll that "may include close relatives of Mayor Tonny Kennon" and married employees "sometimes work in direct chains of supervision."

She said the reports raise concerns under the state's nepotism provisions.

Section (c) of 41-1-5 states, "Any person within the fourth degree of affinity or consanguinity of a public employee shall not be the immediate supervisor for or in the chain of command of, or participate in the hiring, evaluation, reassignment, promotion, or discipline of the public employee within any state department, board, bureau, committee, commission, institution, corporation, authority or other agency of the state."

According to the Alabama Government Manual, municipalities are not listed as an agency of the state.

Section 36-21-1 of the Alabama Ethics Act is definitions of terms.

However, Section 36-25-5 concerns the use of official positions or offices for personal gain, stating, "Personal gain is achieved when the public official, public employee or a family member thereof receives, obtains, exerts control over or otherwise converts to personal use the object constituting such personal gain."

When asked about where she thought the lawsuit would go, Dixon-Moreno said, "Ideally, the citizens of Orange Beach will have an answer to the questions I've posed regarding the mayor, his use of public property and proper domestic violence protocol."

Kennon is facing a rare challenge this year with Councilman and Mayor Pro Tempore Jeff Boyd running against him. Kennon previously told GCM the two have been friends for 20 years. Boyd has not publicly commented on his opponent's election cycle storylines circulating on social media.

The mayoral candidates are set to meet for a debate Aug. 12 at the Orange Beach Event Center, hosted and moderated by 1819 News. Elections are Aug. 26.