A Florida police group says cops charged in Atlanta or mad in Buffalo should come on down
To Atlanta officers charged with using excessive force last week and Buffalo police officers who resigned from their unit after two were disciplined for injuring a 75-year-old man, a Brevard County police organization says they’d be welcome in that part of Florida.
That’s what the Brevard County Fraternal Order of Police said on its Facebook page over the weekend before removing that post and another Monday morning.
By that point, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey had responded on Facebook, calling the FOP posts “extremely distasteful and insensitive to current important and critical issues that are occurring across our country.”
Satellite Beach police, Cocoa Beach police and the city of Rockledge also used Facebook to say, as Ivey did, that FOP neither recruits for nor speaks for his agency. Brevard FOP represents officers with various agencies and Local No. 37 President, Brevard Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Bert Gamin, has been with the department for 26 years.
Florida Today reported that a Gamin email to the newspaper defended the posts as well as the Buffalo and Atlanta officers disciplined.
The fusillade of comments on the now-deleted Facebook posts highlights the fault line between law enforcement and some of the citizenry, especially during protests spurred by police officers killing George Floyd in Minneapolis and, in March, Louisville’s Breonna Taylor.
Saturday’s FOP Facebook post, pinned to the top of the union’s page before being removed Monday, said “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!”
Commenters, for the most part, had a different view.
“What a terrible post. It’s almost like they’re in favor of police brutality and looking to protect the officers who commit it.”
“The post is worse than bad. But the comments restore my faith in humanity a bit.”
Six Atlanta officers, two of whom already have been fired, face charges of using excessive force after the May 30 arrest of two college students.
In Buffalo, two Emergency Response Team officers were disciplined after pushing 75-year-old protester Martin Gugino over backwards. Gugino’s head bounced off cement and began bleeding onto that cement as the officers kept marching past. In response to the discipline, 57 officers resigned from the ERT — though not from the police force.
On Sunday, a majority of the Minneapolis City Council said they wanted to start the road toward ending the Minneapolis Police Department. The Brevard FOP posted another invitation.
“Minneapolis officers... we WILL NOT disband our LE agencies or give in... we are hiring in Florida. Lower taxes, no spineless leadership, conflicting orders or dumb mayors rambling on at press conferences... Plus... we got your back!”
Again, the comments generally didn’t share the FOP’s sympathies.
“Thank you for giving us more of a reason to disband the police force.”
“Go ahead and invite to Florida every officer who has abused citizens and their position. Sounds like you are trying to make Brevard County a battle zone.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 2:18 PM.
