PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Local 10 News has learned that the former Pembroke Park police chief is now under investigation by her former department for entering town hall unauthorized and taking documents.
Town officials are so concerned that they purchased identity theft protection for some employees.
Days after she was terminated by a majority of commissioners in April, sources say Ra Shana Dabney-Donovan was allowed into town hall on a weekend by two officers. Sources said there were documents that should never have been taken.
Her attorney, Stephan Lopez, said she believes she was “authorized” to go in and retrieve items.
Lopez is sending the sealed box of documents back to the town.
Sources claim the former chief took documents containing officers’ personal information and internal affairs documents.
“It’s less than 30 to 40 pages of documents,” Lopez said. “A lot the stuff, she was getting all the boxes, some of that stuff was there, and she didn’t realize that stuff was there. The minute she realized there was stuff that did not belong to her...she contacted me.”
During a recent commission meeting, Pembroke Park’s town manager called it “a potential breach of our system” that its police department is investigating.
On April 5, in a heated meeting, Dabney-Donovan was fired after six months as the chief. Commissioner Geoffrey Jacobs spearheaded the termination.
“When the commission appointed this police chief, I said over and over that she doesn’t meet the qualifications for this position,” Jacobs said at the time.
Not all commissioners were on board.
“His hatred for the chief has been well documented. His attacks of the chief have been well documented,” Commissioner William Hodgkins said.
Commissioner Erik Morrissette, the other dissenting vote, said at the time, “The chief has been accused of mismanagement complaints and everything has been done by the book.”
Jacobs blamed Dabney Donovan after he was charged with filing a false police report. Last November, he called the police to report that the mayor was known to carry a gun and that he was concerned for his safety. There was no gun.
Dabney-Donovan was fired for allegedly targeting white officers, mismanaging grants, and ignoring complaints against officers.
“These allegations are false, as contrived by those whose vindictive nature overshadows due process, truth and justice,” she said during a May hearing. “I have been continually harassed, defamed, and berated.”
“This small town has a history of this behavior,” Lopez said. “At some point, it has to come to an end.”
Sources said video from inside town hall is being looked at in the investigation.
Dabney-Donovan plans on suing the Pembroke Park Police Department for discrimination and retaliation, and possibly a whistleblower claim.
She would be the eighth former employee to do so.