City of Pensacola parts ways with Rev. LuTimothy May


  • July 8, 2015
  • /   Mollye Barrows
  • /   community-dashboard

LuTimothy May is the city's former Community Outreach Director and reverend of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, in Brownsville.

The City of Pensacola confirms that LuTimothy May, brother of Escambia County commissioner Lumon May, is no longer a city employee. May spent nearly three years as Pensacola's Community Outreach Director, but he says administrators let him go Monday morning.

"I was told I was being let go due to 'organizational restructuring,'" said May who was surprised by the move. He declined to comment further on the situation. The move comes less than two weeks after video of a traffic stop involving commissioner Lumon May was released to the public and sparked debate.

In the video, Commissioner May is irate after a Pensacola police officer stops him for an alleged problem with his tag. May demands to know why she ran his tag and the argument escalates until two more officers arrive. Commissioner May's brother, LuTimothy is also seen in the video, walking up to his brother's truck and standing nearby during the incident.

{{business_name}}Rev. LuTimothy May

Picture from dashboard cam video of June 28, 2015, traffic stop involving Escambia Commissioner Lumon May. LuTimothy May is seen here with his foot on the bumper of his brother's truck.

At one point, the officer who initiated the stop is heard asking, then later demanding that LuTimothy May "get back" and stop "interfering" with the traffic stop. May is also seen putting his foot on the back bumper of his brother's truck and the officer asks another sergeant on the scene to "do something" about him because he is now "on top of the truck."

Commissioner May has since apologized to the officer and to the public over the traffic stop, but the incident sparked a hotly contested debate about racial profiling and the treatment of police as well as citizens. In fact, the Fraternal Order of Police, the local police union wrote a letter to Escambia County administrator Jack Brown, asking that Lumon May be censored, a request they later rescinded.

In an email sent to Pensacola's Public Information Officer, Vernon Stewart and Chief Operations Officer, Tamara Fountain, Pensacola Today asked for confirmation about LuTimothy May's dismissal and more information about the community outreach director position, including what will become of it during a potential "restructuring."

Pensacola Today also asked if the "news making traffic stop" played a role in LuTimothy May losing his job.

Stewart confirmed May is "no longer an employee," but according to the city's media policy he is "not at liberty to discuss further personnel-related information which includes the circumstances surrounding Mr. May's departure."

Stewart also included a link to May's job description, which describes responsibilities like fostering diversity in Pensacola's civic life, engaging under-represented communities, and acting as a liaison to community groups. However, he did not respond to questions about "organizational restructuring" and what would become of the position in the event it occurs.

In the meantime, LuTimothy May, who is also reverend of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Brownsville, is seeking legal advice before commenting further on the issue.

 
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