The president of a Florida police organization has apologized over now-deleted remarks inviting officers who’d resigned or been disciplined in Minneapolis, Buffalo and Atlanta during Black Lives Matter protests to join the ranks of local police agencies.
The Fraternal Order of Police posted the now-deleted advertisement over the weekend, prompting backlash from Florida citizens at a time when the US is rallying against police brutality and racism in the wake of George Flloyd’s death.
The post, made on the Brevard County F.O.P. Facebook page on June 6, read: ‘Hey Buffalo 57… and Atlanta 6… we are hiring in Florida.
‘Lower taxes, no spineless leadership, or dumb mayors rambling on at press conferences… Plus… we got your back! #lawandorderFlorida.’
It comes after six Atlanta officers were charged for using excessive force during a George Floyd protest, and two officers in Buffalo were suspended for allegedly brutalising a 75-year-old protester.
The president of the Brevard Fraternal Order of Police behind the now-deleted remarks, Lt. Robert Gamin (pictured), has since apologized for the ‘distasteful’ comments
The post, made on the Brevard County F.O.P. Facebook page on June 6, read: ‘Hey Buffalo 57… and Atlanta 6… we are hiring in Florida’
The post attracted over 2,000 comments and 1,000 shares.
The president of the Brevard Fraternal Order of Police behind the now-deleted remarks, Lt. Robert Gamin, has since apologized for the ‘distasteful’ comments.
‘I let my emotions and frustration get the better of me as a result of all the continually negative media portrayals of law enforcement,’ he said on Monday afternoon.
‘My intent was to respond to some of the negative messaging and offer a supportive message to all the men and women in law enforcement.
‘Clearly, I failed doing so.’
Some of the officers involved in violent incidents in Buffalo, New York and Atlanta have been dismissed or arrested and charged amid the ongoing protests.
Six Atlanta officers were charged for using excessive force during the arrest of two college students at a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd on Saturday night.
The officers were filmed in downtown Atlanta breaking windows of a vehicle, wrestling a woman out of the car and tasing a man.
Last Tuesday Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms fired officers Mark Gardener, who is charged with aggravated assault, and Ivory Streeter, who was charged with the same crime and pointing a gun at another person, claiming their actions were a clear display of excessive force.
The other four officers were placed on desk duty before they were hauled into jail.
Handout combination of booking images released by the Fulton County Sheriff showing (left to right top row) Atlanta Police officers Ivory Streeter, Willie Sauls, Armon Jones, (left to right bottom row) Lonnie Hood, Mark Gardner and Roland Claud who were booked into the Fulton County Jail
Martin Gugino, a longtime peace activist from Amherst, had been at a protest at Niagara Square near Buffalo City Hall when he was pushed. He hit his head on the ground causing it to bleed
It was reported that 57 police officers quite in protest in Buffalo after two of their colleagues were suspended for allegedly brutalising a 75-year-old protester by pushing him to the ground and cracking his skull.
Martin Gugino, a longtime peace activist from Amherst, had been at a protest at Niagara Square near Buffalo City Hall when he was pushed. He hit his head on the ground causing it to bleed.
Gugino is in serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center following the altercation with the officers, which left him lying in a pool of his own blood on the sidewalk in front of City Hall.
The incident, which comes amid nationwide protests against police brutality, prompted calls for the officers involved to be fired. The police department has also been criticized over its initial statement claiming the man had ‘tripped and fell.’
In an emailed statement to Florida Today, Brevard County F.O.P. President Bert Gamin, who said he is a 28-year law enforcement veteran, defended the incidents in Buffalo and Atlanta, saying officers were being placed in ‘absolute no-win situations’.
‘The police had the legal authority in both cases. At the time the warnings were provided, the citizens were already breaking the law,’ he told the publication.
‘Those citizens chose to disregard the warnings. It led directly to escalations and confrontations with the police. When we issue lawful commands/warnings, citizens have a responsibility to comply. The reality is failure to comply leads to escalation.
‘As it specifically relates to the elderly gentleman in Buffalo, he and others were repeatedly warned by the police to leave the area. They disobeyed the orders.’