34. Holly Hill police chief resigns for same job in Port St. Lucie

Photo by Roland Via. Holly Hill Public Safety Director resigned his post in December to become chief of police in Port St. Lucie.

HOLLY HILL -- Don Shinnamon, public safety director for Holly Hill, resigned in December after he was offered and accepted the position of chief of police in Port St. Lucie.

Shinnamon had been with Holly Hill since 2001, and was formerly top cop in Gainesville.

Shinnamon and police Cmdr. Mark Barker have had a rocky relationship with City Commissioner Liz Towley, who has filed numerous complaints against them with the city and courts. Even the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has refused to hear her criminal complaints against the two.

In early November, the two police administrators sought and were granted a temporary injunction by Circuit Judge William Parsons, preventing Towley from filing additional criminal complaints against them, according to court records.

Towley began her complaints against Shinnamon and Barker in 2007, after she was terminated from her job as a community service officer with the police department. She subsequently filed a gender discrimination suit against the city.

Shinnamon was expected to start in Port St. Lucie Jan. 12.