Clearwater City Official Resigns Following Arrest At Oktoberfest Celebration

CLEARWATER, FL - A Clearwater city official resigned Wednesday in the aftermath of his arrest over the weekend at a local Oktoberfest celebration. Police said Seth Taylor, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency director, drove a golf cart on the sidewalk and rammed it into tables and potted plants at the Clear Sky restaurant on Cleveland Street, then got in a fight with a diner.

Taylor, 38, was attending the city's House of Beer Oktoberfest Celebration when he was arrested about 11:40 p.m. Saturday. His resignation was effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday, said Communications Director Joelle Castelli. The city had placed Taylor on paid administrative Monday.

During Saturday’s altercation, Taylor spotted a restaurant patron recording his actions and grabbed him “around his neck and pulled him from the chair he was sitting on,” an arrest affidavit said. Witnesses helped break up the fight with the restaurant patron, and Taylor fled, the affidavit said. Taylor was later located near the restaurant by Clearwater police and arrested.

He was transported to the Pinellas County Jail early Sunday morning but was not booked, according to the affidavit. Sgt. Spencer Gross of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said Taylor was not arrested because he was eligible for the Adult Pre-Arrest Diversion Program. Under the program, adults arrested for minor offenses can avoid jail by completing community service, counseling or drug treatment.

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Police said in the affidavit that the victim, who was not identified, did not sustain any visible injuries.

City Manager Bill Horne said Taylor's conduct, while out of character, was inappropriate for a city employee in a key leadership position, the Tampa Bay Times reported. "He was an embarrassment to us all," Horne said. "It's just not something that should in any way characterize how city employees interact with our public in our community."

Taylor was hired in July 2016 after working with neighborhood revitalization in New York City.

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