- High Springs Police Chief Antoine Sheppard was placed on paid administrative leave on June 23 amid an undisclosed investigation into complaints.
- Sheppard has served as chief since 2019, recently marked 25 years with the department, and must return city property during leave.
High Springs Police Chief Antoine Sheppard was placed on administrative leave this week due to an investigation into complaints, according to a letter from the city.
City Manager Jeremy Marshall wrote the letter to Sheppard dated June 23. The leave is paid and effective immediately. The nature of the complaints and the investigation is not disclosed.
The letter states Sheppard must make himself available to be contacted during regular business hours, but the chief is not allowed to contact any city employees or access areas designated for employees without Marshall’s authorization.
Sheppard must return all city property, including his laptop, keys and ID badge, to the city clerk. If any of the terms relayed in the letter are violated, the chief will be subject to disciplinary action.
“You will remain on administrative leave until you receive written notification from the City Manager,” Marshall writes. “If you have any questions regarding your administrative leave status, please contact the City Clerk’s office.”
Sheppard has served as chief since 2019 and celebrated 25 years with the department in April.
Last month, Sheppard went to bat to defend his police department from potential cuts as the City Commission considered ways to make room in its budget. The commission ultimately decided to keep both fire and police.
The city told Mainstreet it couldn’t comment on the letter as the investigation is active. Sheppard did not respond to comment in time for the publication of this story, which will be updated as any statements are acquired.
Editor’s note: This story was underwritten by a grant from the Rural Reporting Initiative at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.
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This is nothing more than a sabotage attempt against Antoine’s character. I’ve known him since Kindergarten and he has not a nefarious bone in his body. He’s a deeply religious, firm, fair, and consistent person. I’m certain any allegations will be dismissed.
Once again, the powers that be in High Springs are going after either the Police or Fire Chief over some “undisclosed” charges. The community at large does not believe this for one moment, other than to think that the Chief, who stood up for his department in order to protect the entire city, rubbed one of the commissioners the wrong way, and now they are out to get rid of him on some made-up charge. We are not having it! This man has honorably kept the city and the surrounding area safe for a quarter of a century and done so with grace and humility. He is not a perfect person, but he has worked hard to keep an area filled with many eclectic challenges safe, and has done so with a wonderful staff who emulate his humility while upholding the law. The people of his community are not letting this go–we support him. We will not let him be railroaded out of his job without just cause and without full transparency. Those who run the city have already shown us that they don’t make good decisions given the city’s fiscal state…our trust lies firmly with the Chief, who has an established track record.
Yes, there’s a lot of that “powers that be” overriding the will of the people. Just keep your fingers crossed that some state-level politician doesn’t step in and introduce a legislative bill to usurp control.
This sounds to me like a deeply dysfunctional city. I am new to the area but am fascinated by local governments most of which seem to be scripted and ran by Monty Python writers. Newberry has its cement plants and “charter schools”. Not to be bested, High Springs wants to fire its fire department, its police department and the Chief himself at a meeting preceded by a Pentecostal prayer meeting held in City Hall!
Hallelujah!