DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A judge is considering a gag order against the often outspoken police chief in Daytona Beach. The request comes from a former city leader who was arrested in a bathroom sex sting.

Police Chief Michael Chitwood said he thinks the request for a gag order is hilarious. It's the attorney for former mayoral candidate Mike Shallow, though, who asked a judge Wednesday to keep Chitwood quiet about his client's case.

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He said since the arrest, Chitwood has used terms like 'scumbag' and 'pervert' to refer to his client. Comments he feels hurts Shallow's chance for a fair trial.

Shallow was arrested in a Sears bathroom last month along with eight other men. Police said the bathroom had become a hot spot for public sexual activity and each man arrested was charged with indecent exposure and lascivious conduct.

Shallow's attorney said that, since day one, Chitwood has tried to make himself the center of attention on the case.

"It's about him. 'I'm here to clean up the scumbags in this town.' I mean, that's disgusting for a public official to say things like that," said Mike Lambert, defense attorney for Shallow.

"My job here is to arrest the scumbags the sexual predators the rapists and the robbers. And when I do it, I'm going to shed light on it," Chief Chitwood said.

The judge wanted copies of newspaper articles where Chitwood is quoted and recordings of radio interviews where he talked about the case, but he did not make a ruling. Wednesday afternoon, Chitwood was still free to say what he wanted to.