Antonio Gilliam backs out of police chief job over contract language

Karl Etters | Tallahassee Democrat

Show Caption Hide Caption What to expect with new TPD chief Antonio Gilliam Gilliam takes over as Tallahassee's top cop in January. He hopes to address community distrust, police staffing and placing the new police headquarters.

Incoming Tallahassee Police Chief Antonio Gilliam has turned down the job over a contract dispute.

Gilliam, slated to begin Jan. 6, was asked to sign an agreement that he could be fired "at will" by officials at City Hall.

That — and other issues with autonomy and police organizational structure — became a deal-breaker during final negotiations. Steve Outlaw will remain the interim chief.

In emails obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, Gilliam expressed concern over the term "termination of convenience" included in the contract.

"I am not familiar with a termination of convenience," Gilliam wrote in a Tuesday email to City HR director Ellen Blair. "Can we remove that entire language?"

Gilliam, in the email, indicated the language was new and not in the letter of intent or part of previous discussions.

In a return email Wednesday, Blair wrote "termination of convenience" had been removed from the agreement.

On Thursday, city officials announced Gilliam had rescinded his acceptance of the job offer. Later in the day, Gilliam responded to the announcement with a two-page letter titled "Response to misinformation."

Letter: Here's why Antonio Gilliam says he won't be Tallahassee's next police chief

Opinion: I was a member of TPD's brass. The excessive micromanagement from the city was unrelenting

He said in a meeting with City Managers Reese Goad and Cynthia Barber on Nov. 21, they verbally agreed that he would have autonomy over personnel decisions, that he couldn't be fired without just cause and would remain employed until 2026.

Throughout the process of agreeing to the contract, language of autonomy was not present, Gilliam wrote. Included was a phrase that Goad's discretion to keep him on could supersede the contract.

Gilliam said Goad asked that a contract be signed with a “quick turnaround” so he could make an announcement by Dec. 4. Gilliam said he questioned that, insisting his attorneys review it before signing.

“I explained to Goad that I would not accept the written offer,” Gilliam wrote. “I have received, on more than one occasion, iterations of a Chief of Police Employment Agreement that is devoid of any discussion regarding command staff autonomy (and) inclusive of new language, which indicates I can be terminated from employment, even when I am able to perform the duties of police chief.”

He indicated that by the time he decided to decline the offer on Thursday, there never was a contract that met the parameters set during conversations or set forth on Dec. 4.

Gilliam, who will remain at St. Petersburg Police Department leading its Administrative Services Bureau, said if there were doubts about his intent to come to Tallahassee, he could show reasons to put them to rest. Namely, he now owes close to $7,000 for early termination of a lease, he scheduled utilities service to begin, arranged rental furniture to arrive on Dec. 20, and listed his home in Central Florida for sale.

“Tallahassee, I wanted to become your next police chief, but it should have been the priority of others in certain positions to want the same, and to get the job done,” he said.

“Despite unnecessary unresponsiveness, lack of internal coordination, and potential untruths on the part of some persons, I remained determined to arrive in Tallahassee. However, an individual can only proceed so far before his cognitive abilities override the emotion of returning home at any and all costs.”

Back story:

Gilliam was hired after a lengthy search to replace Michael DeLeo, who resigned earlier this year. The SPPD Assistant Chief of Police was heralded as a fresh face of a department that has struggled to find strong, reliable leadership that has the confidence of the community and rank-and-file officers.

City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow said it was a shame that the work, including public meetings and input from a community search committee, was undone by contract issues.

“This is frustrating. We went through a month-long process of citizen engagement. We made the right choice, we found the right guy and to have it all fall apart in a contract negation is just baffling,” he said. “Crime is at an all-time high. We need a police chief and we need to get a plan and to move forward.”

Other city commissioners said they weren’t privy to the contractual issues that led to Gilliam rescinding his agreement, but they did express disappointment in having to start again in finding a new chief.

“I am extremely disappointed that we could not get to a place where he might have agreed to continue in the process,” said city commissioner Elaine Bryant. “However, from where we are now we will have to move forward because the city of Tallahassee still needs a chief of police.”

Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said she had not yet reviewed the hiring paperwork Gilliam referred to in his response. She too said she was dismayed at not having a permanent chief of police.

"I looked forward to having a working relationship with him," she said. "I certainly had hoped we were going to have him come back to our community and help us out."

Commissioner Curtis Richardson said he’s been told that city brass worked to get Gilliam everything he asked for in his contract.

“My understanding is that we tried to accommodate him in every way that we could and he still made the decision to stay in St. Pete,” he said. “It had to be more than a small snag.”

Mayor John Dailey didn't respond to calls for comment, but tweeted a reaction hours after the announcement at 6 p.m.

"I’m disappointed that Antonio Gilliam has decided not to come to Tallahassee as our next police chief," he wrote. "I’m proud of the offer we extended to him, which he accepted on Dec. 4. However, since then Mr. Gilliam has decided to rescind his acceptance. I wish him & his family well."

Word began to spread that Gilliam had turned down the job late Thursday morning. Two city managers and the city spokeswoman did not answer multiple calls from the Tallahassee Democrat asking for confirmation and comment. Matlow found out about the news when city officials passed along a public records request to commissioners.

The city sent out a statement via email at about 1:40 p.m.

"This news is unexpected, and I am disappointed that he has chosen to step away at this point in the process," Goad said in the statement. "We will take the time necessary to determine next steps in moving forward."

Goad, Barber, City Spokeswoman Alison Faris did not return calls for comment.

Hours later, Dailey would tweet his disappointment in Gilliam's decision and his confidence in TPD’s "ongoing commitment to serving and protecting our community."

"I’m proud of the offer we extended to him, which he accepted on Dec. 4," Dailey wrote. "However, since then Mr. Gilliam has decided to rescind his acceptance. I wish him & his family well."

Here is the full statement put out by City Hall:

"SENT ON BEHALF OF CITY MANAGER REESE GOAD

"Today, I was notified by Antonio Gilliam of his decision to rescind his acceptance of the employment agreement he signed on December 4, 2019, committing to be Tallahassee’s Police Chief. This news is unexpected, and I am disappointed that he has chosen to step away at this point in the process. We will take the time necessary to determine next steps in moving forward. In the meantime, Chief Steve Outlaw will continue to lead the department. I have full confidence in the Tallahassee Police Department and their ability to continue meeting the challenges we face as a community and the expectations of our residents."

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.