Officer in viral photo resigns amid internal investigation

A Florida police officer whose viral selfie taken during Hurricane Irma earned him the nickname ‘hot cop’ has resigned during an internal affairs investigation into anti-Semitic posts he wrote on Facebook.

Michael Hamill resigned from the Gainesville Police Department on December 6, the same day he was supposed to appear for an internal affairs interview.

Police spokesman Ben Tobias says investigators were looking into anti-Semitic statements made on social media, as well as allegations he had sex while on duty.

Michael Hamill, centre, gained social media fame after this picture taken during Hurricane Irma, after the discovery of anti-Semitic statements he made on Facebook, as well as allegations he had sex while on duty, he has resigned.

Tobias says both allegations could have resulted in termination.

Hamill gained attention after a selfie with two other Gainesville police officers was posted to the department’s Facebook following Hurricane Irma in September. 

Before being removed, the photo had received 181,000 comments, 517,000 likes and 276,000 shares.

However, in the wake of his fame, an unknown person tracked down his personal Facebook page where he had made several anti-Semitic statements before joining Gainesville Police Department in 2016. 

Deeply offensive: Hamill had made anti-Semitic statements on his personal Facebook page in 2011 and 2013, several years before he joined the Gainsville Police Department

Deeply offensive: Hamill had made anti-Semitic statements on his personal Facebook page in 2011 and 2013, several years before he joined the Gainsville Police Department

In one post dated April 2013, Hamill appears to have written: ‘Who knew that reading Jewish jokes before I go to bed would not only make me feel better about myself but also help me to sleep better as well.’

The post continued: ‘Here is one for everybody, “What’s the difference between boy scouts and Jews?” Anybody know? Well it is because “Boy scouts come back from their camps,”‘ the post continued.

In another screenshot, Hamill ranted against ‘stupid people’, concluding: ‘Put them in an oven and deal with them the Hitler way. Haha.’ 

His account later appeared to have been deleted or suspended, but screenshots of the offending posts could still be found on social media. 

When the offensive Facebook posts were exposed in September this year, Hamill was suspended with pay by Gainsville Police Department.  



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