By James Wilkins
Orlando Sentinel
GROVELAND, Fla. — Groveland Police Chief Shawn Ramsey recently filed a lawsuit claiming city officials retaliated against him after he submitted whistleblower complaints alleging violations of state open meetings law, misuse of public office, misuse of public resources, and abuse of governmental authority.
According to the lawsuit, Ramsey submitted three written complaints between October 2025 and February 2026 to the state attorney’s office and the Florida Commission on Ethics alleging improper communications were held among Groveland elected officials outside publicly noticed meetings.
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“[Ramsey] made a series of complaints against the mayor and other figures when he suspected there was wrongdoing,” Attorney Anthony Sabatini , representing Ramsey, said. “He did it not publicly and not flaunting it; he just did the complaints because he felt he was obligated.”
In the lawsuit, Ramsey claims Groveland Mayor Keith Keogh launched an investigation into his actions as police chief by filing a Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or FDLE, complaint based on a packet of information Keogh received shortly after being elected mayor in November 2024.
Ramsey said Keogh took no action for seven months until after he filed the whistleblower complaints. In June 2025, the mayor filed the complaint against him and former Groveland City Manager Mike Hein for an alleged sexual assault incident committed by Hein’s son and subsequent cover-up by Ramsey.
Neither Hein nor Ramsey were found criminally culpable during the FDLE investigation, with the Office of the State Attorney confirming in writing that there was “no evidence of any crime whatsoever.”
Ramsey shared in the lawsuit that he believes Keogh violated Florida’s Sunshine Law and the city’s charter by initiating the investigation on his own.
“This is clearly a violation of the City of Groveland’s Charter and [Florida State Statutes],” the lawsuit claims. “All inquiries into the wrongdoings of staff must be initiated by the City Manager. Without the consent or knowledge of the Council, the mayor violates the City of Groveland’s Charter by taking such allegations to an investigative body and conducting such investigations in secrecy.”
This is the second time in just over a year that Sabatini has represented a lawsuit against Groveland City Council, helping former Groveland Councilwoman Judith Fike get reinstated less than one week after her suspension for re-surfaced racist and anti-gay social media posts in July 2025.
Ramsey alleges the information Keogh received was from fellow Groveland Council Member Amy Jo Carroll and a “close associate” of Carroll, who brought the packet to Keogh’s attention, leading to his decision to file an FDLE complaint.
Communications between Keogh, Carroll, her close associate, and Groveland Vice-Mayor Barbara Gaines occurred via in-person conversations and over text, Ramsey wrote in his whistleblower complaint, with the group utilizing Carroll’s associate as a “third-party intermediary” while waiting for the return of the FDLE investigation in 2025.
“The actions of the mayor were without the consent or knowledge of the complete Groveland Council and outside of ‘sunshine’ or a public meeting,” Ramsey wrote in his October 2025 whistleblower complaint. “…These findings are both troubling and concerning to me. I find myself with no other option than to pursue an official whistleblower complaint so that these violations of the Groveland City Charter and [Florida State Statutes] may be addressed transparently. The Citizens of Groveland deserve better, and I am prepared to cooperate in any way possible to bring a resolution.”
The second whistleblower complaint — filed by Ramsey in February 2026 — alleges Keogh misused public funds for personal interest by initiating the FDLE investigation in a personal capacity, using city-contracted legal personnel for personal matters to assist with the investigation, and creating a conflict of interest by utilizing the city attorney to further the personal investigation.
Filed the same day as the second complaint, the third and final whistleblower complaint from Ramsey argues Keogh circumvented public process by “initiating telephone conversations with multiple elected officials” to discuss a future agenda item regarding Hein’s impending separation agreement and directly influenced the outcome of the city manager search by “informing Carroll that the council needed to ensure former Community Development Director Tim Maslow was voted into the role of lnterim City Manager” upon Hein’s departure.
Ramsey wrote that Keogh “openly acknowledged his direct, private communication with each elected official regarding the separation agreement and interim appointment” at a scheduled public workshop on Feb.19.
Since the whistleblower complaints were filed, Ramsey claims city staff has retaliated against him by requesting extensive records concerning a police use-of-force incident from years prior and investigating several complaints against him.
Multiple outside investigations involving GrayRobinson, Lake County , and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office proceeded against Ramsey after his complaint, which he said were “based upon recycled, unsupported, stale, or previously rejected allegations.”
As a direct result of their alleged retaliation, the lawsuit says Ramsey “has suffered and continues to suffer injury to his employment rights and interests”, which include losing command authority, professional standing, employment security, career prospects, compensation and benefits.
“They started placing him under these really strenuous burdens through administrative investigations — two or three separate ones in a short period of time — which have impeded his ability to work and be respected and actually run the department,” Sabatini said. “It has caused turmoil and [the investigations] are totally pretextual.”
In a statement, the City of Groveland said it is “unable to offer comment on the matter at this time” due to pending litigation.
Keogh also declined to comment.
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