At the Marco Island City Council meeting on Dec. 9, as city councilors discussed agenda items and entered into public comment, the Marco Island Police Department was called to escort one resident out of the Council Chambers.
You can watch the entire exchange, which is from about 54:00-56:00, here.
"I was at a point in life where I took a lot of blood thinners, and about 15 years ago, I hit my head ... I had to relearn how to talk, relearn how to walk, it's been a long battle ... I have facial twitches still, and won't ever be the same person," said Cynthia Sheppelman, a longtime resident who was the person removed.
Newly elected Councilwoman Bonita Schwan , who recently received about 6,000 votes from Marco Islanders in the November 2024 election, was the one who asked the MIPD to remove the disabled woman from the crowd.
"Pulling faces, pointing, things of those things. We are a professional ... we are trying to do the professional things of the city here. Please, chief, if you could handle it from here," said Schwan during the meeting, which was livestreamed on Dec. 9.
In an official incident report, the Marco Island Police Department said:
Officers on the site escorted her to the atrium, where she left voluntarily without being detained or charged.
"I'm more confused by it. I think, if this is what we've come to ... the way you're looking at a person, should people like me wear sunglasses? Should we make sure that we're not doing something incorrect by the way we look at a person? That person that did this, maybe she needs to think about the way she's looking at a person like me," said Sheppelman.
In a statement to NBC2 News following the notification of the publishing of this story, Schwan said in part:
"There have been numerous verbal outbursts and gestures while the City Council meetings are being conducted. Most recently the November 18, 2024 council meeting there was a verbal outburst resulting in a police report being filed ... The Marco Island City Council Rules of Decorum were attached to the November 18, 2024 meeting. After the November 18, 2024 meeting a procedure was developed to restore civility and respect for all Marco Island residents that allows the business of the City to be effectively conducted, and ensures that members of the public can be heard in a fair impartial and respectful manner. The procedure is simply a reminder to the attendee to kindly follow the City Council Rules of Decorum. After such reminder the attendee can of course return to the City Council chambers."
Additionally, Schwan addressed this individual situation independently, telling NBC2:
"Also, during the December 9 meeting, I was subjected to heckling by Cynthia Sheppelman ... Cynthia Sheppelman was kindly reminded of the City Council Rules of Decorum upon which she could have returned to the City Council Chambers but she chose not to return. At the conclusion of the December 9 City Council meeting it was decided an officer will be seated near the front of the dais to observe the City Council meetings."
Sheppelman plans on speaking during public comment at Marco Island City Council's next meeting after the New Year in search of an apology.