A member of Trinidad’s Planning Commission has been stripped of his duties amid complaints that he brought a stun gun or similar device to a planning commission meeting earlier this year.
Former Planning Commission Vice Chair Brett Gregory says he witnessed Commissioner Mike Morgan pull out a taser or stun gun and place it on the table in front of him during the May 16 meeting. At another meeting one month later, Morgan was seen carrying mace or pepper spray.
Morgan has denied even owning a taser or stun gun, but that avowal was contradicted by city staff. According to Trinidad City Manager Dan Berman, Morgan once presented the taser to a deputy and asked whether it would be legal to bring it to public meetings. He was told it would not since weapons of any kind are prohibited from public meetings under California law.
Trinidad Planning Commission Chairman John Graves sat next to Morgan at the May 16 meeting and did not see a taser or stun gun. However, he says he was busy speaking to another staff member at the time. During the same meeting, Morgan was accused of making inappropriate statements which he then quickly apologized for.
It should be noted that Morgan and Gregory are both running for the Trinidad City Council. Morgan’s removal now leaves two vacancies on the city’s planning commission.