Domestic Violence Calls Involving Orange Beach Mayor Surface
Audio recordings linked to previous allegations of domestic violence involving Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon were released Monday, just days before the upcoming election.
Local resident CC Dixon Moreno, who is currently engaged in a federal lawsuit against the city for withholding bodycam footage, shared these audio files with various news organizations and key authorities, including the Alabama Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Interestingly, Dixon Moreno didn’t acquire the files from the city directly; instead, they came from another source.
The audio begins with an unidentified officer speaking with the woman who reported the incident, identified later by Pleasure Island Tiki Bartenders Tierra Moril and Lagniappe Daily on the night in question.
In the recording, the caller describes seeing a man who was filming a woman on the patio, “naked, grabbing the girl by her hair, screaming two or three times, and yelling, ‘You’ll never run away to me.'”
As the officers approach the building, they express uncertainty about whether anyone resides in the coastal resource property where the incident occurred.
A few moments later, an officer can be heard knocking, and a voice from inside asks who is at the door.
“What are you doing? Hey, that’s Tony Kennon,” comes a reply. “I’m the mayor, that’s my office.”
The officers inform Kennon about the reported domestic violence incident, to which he apologizes. He mentions that his wife is there and offers to contact her, but the officers decide against reaching out.
“This is our escape. We’re going to run away from everything here,” Kennon states during the exchange.
After the July 8 Lagniappe report, he told Gulf Media he wouldn’t use his office as a vacation spot.
“My ‘escape’ is the property I own next door,” Kennon remarked. He acknowledged that the situation was embarrassing for both him and his family, and emphasized the negative impact on the community.
Yet, in the audio, he refers to the office as a “weekend holiday.” He claims, “There’s no other place to go.”
Kennon goes on to apologize to the officer for “thinking someone is shooting you,” prompting laughter from the officer, who leaves without making contact with the alleged victim. The recording ends abruptly, indicating the body camera has been turned off. According to police reports, Kennon’s wife, Paula, later apologized for not reaching out to them, stating four days afterward that no incident had occurred and she was fine.
Additionally, Dixon Moreno released a transcript that includes excerpts of the leaked audio and recordings from third parties involved at the scene.
The transcript notes an officer discussing the incident on a mobile phone, saying, “I guess who it is. This f***ing shit, naked guy. Tony f***ing Kennon. It’s Tony and his wife… he’s probably naked so he’s not opening the door.”
This incident has sparked concerns not only about possible misconduct by Kennon towards his wife or another woman on the balcony but also regarding his characterization of the office as a “weekend getaway” and the officers’ responses to the situation, given that they operated under his authority.
