Residents raise police conduct and water-billing complaints during Pinellas Park public comment
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Summary
During the public‑comment portion of the Dec. 11 meeting, one resident alleged a warrantless, heavily armed police entry on his property last Christmas and said he received no follow‑up; another resident urged the council to reconsider a 3,000‑gallon minimum water bill. City officials invited commenters to meet staff and noted the city purchases water from the county.
Two public commenters used the Dec. 11 Pinellas Park City Council meeting to press city officials on separate local concerns: an alleged aggressive police entry on private property and a complaint about the city's 3,000‑gallon minimum water billing policy.
In a lengthy public comment, a resident identified in the record as Lee Stemus described what he said was a Dec. 25 incident in which officers arrived at his home with ballistic shields and rifles. "I was greeted with an officer with a ballistic shield and a Glock 17 pointed at me through my front door," he said, and described damage to gates and fence and neighbors briefly detained on their porches. Stemus said he filed complaints with the police department but had received no response and told council he had contacted the state's attorney and the attorney general. He asked council for assurances the city would prevent a recurrence.
The mayor and other officials responded by inviting the resident to speak with a police representative present at the meeting: "Please, by all means, sit down and talk with this police officer over here," the presiding official said. The meeting record does not show a formal departmental response, corrective action, or a recorded follow‑up direction to investigate the complaint during the meeting.
A second commenter, identified in the record as Stephan Gray, said he opposes the city's 3,000‑gallon minimum used for utility billing and described monthly usages that left him below the floor and with elevated bills. "I always oppose the 3,000 gallon minimum," he said. A council member noted the city purchases water from the county and that county charges constrain local billing: "We purchase our water from the county. So that's what they charge us," the council member said.
Council did not take formal action on either matter during the meeting. The statements were entered into the public record; the transcript does not record an investigation outcome, staff assignment, or change to the billing policy at this session.
