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Lieutenant Resigns After Urging Cops in Violent Clashes to Come to Florida

Bert Gamin resigned Friday after writing a Facebook post recruiting officers who have been accused of excessive force in New York and Atlanta.

A Florida lieutenant resigned Friday amid outage over his Facebook post last week recruiting officers who have been disciplined in the wake of violent clashes during protests over the death of George Floyd. Brevard County Sheriff Lt. Bert Gamin resigned three days after he was suspended with pay over several messages he wrote on the Facebook page of a local lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police—a national police union organization.

In the June 6 posts, Gamin called on officers connected to two violent incidents in Buffalo and Atlanta to apply for jobs in Floria. “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.... law and order in Florida ... move to where are you are loved,” Gamin wrote in one of the two posts that have since been deleted.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a Friday news conference that while “there’s no question that each of us has a First Amendment right to express our opinions and feelings, Lieutenant Gamin’s comments showed very poor judgment.” Gamin, who is also the president of the Brevard County FOP, publicly apologized for the posts after they were met with instant backlash.