Groveland Police Chief Shawn Ramsey has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that municipal officials retaliated against him after he submitted a series of whistleblower complaints accusing Mayor Keith Keogh of violating state open meetings law, misusing public office, misusing public resources and abusing governmental authority. The suit, filed just days before Groveland's August 18 municipal primary, escalates a monthslong governance feud between the city's top cop and its mayor.
According to Inside Lake, Ramsey electronically filed a 29-page civil complaint in Florida state court on August 14 under the Florida Public Whistle-blower's Act, seeking a jury trial, compensatory damages, back pay, attorney's fees and an injunction against further municipal retaliation. Ramsey, who was appointed Groveland police chief in March 2017, is represented by Anthony Sabatini, a current Lake County Commissioner, former Florida State Representative and operator of the Sabatini Law Firm, P.A., per the same Inside Lake report. Sabatini said the administrative investigations impeded Ramsey's ability to work, earn respect and run the department, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Three Complaints, One Central Allegation
Per the Sentinel's reporting, Ramsey submitted his first whistleblower complaint in October 2025, followed by a second in February 2026 and a third — filed the same day as the second — to the state attorney's office and the Florida Commission on Ethics. Across the three filings submitted between October 2025 and February 2026, Ramsey alleged that improper communications among Groveland's elected officials occurred outside publicly noticed meetings, in violation of Florida's Sunshine Law and the city charter.
Specifically, Ramsey alleged that Keogh circumvented public process by initiating telephone conversations with multiple elected officials about a future agenda item, and that Keogh discussed former City Manager Mike Hein's impending separation agreement with multiple elected officials without the consent or knowledge of the complete council and outside a public meeting. Keogh allegedly communicated with council member Amy Jo Carroll, a close associate of Carroll's, and Vice-Mayor Barbara Gaines through in-person conversations and text messages, the Sentinel reported. Ramsey also alleged Keogh acknowledged private communications with each elected official regarding the separation agreement and interim appointment during a public workshop on February 19, and that Keogh influenced the city manager search by telling Carroll that Tim Maslow should be voted interim city manager.
The Fdle Investigation That Started It All
The dispute traces back to an FDLE investigation involving an alleged sexual assault incident committed by Hein's son and a subsequent alleged cover-up by Ramsey. Keogh filed an FDLE complaint against Ramsey and Hein in June 2025, according to the Sentinel's account. Both Ramsey and Hein were ultimately found not criminally culpable in that investigation, and the Office of the State Attorney confirmed there was no evidence of any crime whatsoever.
Despite those findings, Groveland city staff went on to investigate several additional complaints against Ramsey, requesting extensive records concerning a police use-of-force incident from years earlier. Outside investigations involving Ramsey were also conducted by GrayRobinson, Lake County and the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Ramsey has said the outside investigations were based on recycled, unsupported, stale or previously rejected allegations, and he alleges he suffered injury to his employment rights and interests as a result — losing command authority, professional standing, employment security, career prospects, compensation and benefits.
Ramsey also alleged that Keogh created a conflict of interest by using the city attorney to further a personal investigation, allegedly using city-contracted legal personnel for personal matters tied to the FDLE case and allegedly using an associate of Carroll's as a third-party intermediary while awaiting the investigation's outcome. Under the city charter, inquiries into staff wrongdoing are required to be initiated by the city manager — not the mayor — a structural detail central to Ramsey's retaliation claims.
City Declines Comment, Mayor Silent
The City of Groveland said it was unable to comment because of the pending litigation, the Sentinel reported, and Keogh declined to comment. Keogh, who chaired Groveland's Planning & Zoning Board before winning the mayoral seat in November 2024, appeared on the August 18 primary ballot seeking reelection against candidates Judith Fike and Dina Sweatt, according to Ballotpedia.
Ramsey's suit invokes Section 112.3187 of the Florida Statutes, which shields municipal employees from retaliatory adverse employment actions after they report unlawful conduct, gross mismanagement, or abuse of authority to appropriate officials, according to FindLaw. Separately, Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law, codified at Section 286.011, requires that deliberations between two or more members of a municipal board on public business occur in open, publicly noticed meetings, with knowing violations punishable as second-degree misdemeanors, per the Florida Senate.
A City Still Finding Its Footing
Groveland's leadership has been in flux since Hein's departure. Tim Maslow, who joined the city in 2019 as Community and Economic Development Director, was appointed interim city manager in February 2026 in the wake of Hein's exit, according to the city's own municipal website. The turnover comes as Groveland's population has swelled from 18,505 residents in 2020 to an estimated 22,374 by 2022, per U.S. Census Bureau data cited on Wikipedia, placing growing administrative demands on the city's council-manager government structure.
Ramsey's disciplinary record as chief includes a three-day unpaid suspension he issued in July to a department sergeant for driving a patrol SUV up to 124 mph off-duty, a case Ramsey referred to FDLE while stating publicly that internal misconduct will not be tolerated in the department, according to FOX 35 Orlando. The lawsuit also lands amid broader financial and legal turbulence for Groveland: Hoodline previously reported that the city and Lake County sought to recover incentive funds from Kroger after the sudden closure of its Groveland fulfillment facility cost the city more than $1.3 million in economic incentive payments.
The Ramsey case also arrives amid heightened regional scrutiny of law enforcement leadership in Lake County. Hoodline reported in July that former Howey-in-the-Hills Police Chief Michael Giddens resigned under an FDLE misconduct investigation after internal and state probes found policy and ethical violations — a separate case, but one that underscores the pressure facing police chiefs across the county this year. It remains unresolved whether the state ethics commission or the state attorney's office will issue formal findings on Ramsey's whistleblower complaints, and how Groveland's interim administration and city council will respond to the lawsuit in court.
