Florida cops selfie posted during Irma goes viral
Gainesville police officers have thousands of fans after posting photos to Facebook during Hurricane Irma. The cops plan on using their newfound fame to help with relief efforts in the Sunshine State.
One of the Florida police officers who made people swoon online for his good looks has been removed from his post amid complaints he posted several anti-Semitic messages online.
Gainesville police said in a statement they received several complaints from people against Michael Hamill, the bearded officer in the center of the viral group selfie.
"The Gainesville Police Department prides itself with our philosophy and mission of compassion, inclusion, and respect and will fully review the matter," the statement said.
The department did not disclose the nature of the complaint, but the Gainesville Sun reported it received screen shots of anti-Semitic posts on Hamill’s personal Facebook page. The newspaper reported the posts were made in 2011 and 2013.
In one of the screen shots from April 2013, Hamill writes: “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. 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 second screen shot from 2011 said: “so I find it funny that people will talk about how our government needs to do something about our economy and in reality it’s YOU who needs to stop taking advantage of our system and get a life and do something with your life. Gotta love reality when it hits you in the face. Stupid people annoy me. Put them in an oven and deal with them the Hitler way. Haha.”
Hamill, who was sworn in as an officer in October 2016, gained attention after a photo of Hamill standing alongside two other Gainesville police officer was shared on the department’s Facebook page. It has since been taken down, but had garnered more than 100,000 comments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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