Former Brevard County Sheriff's Lieutenant Bert Gamin's last words on the job might as well have been, "you can't fire me, I quit!" Gamin had just been told by Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey that he was going to be fired for a racist comments and Facebook posts in which he reached out to fired officers in other parts of the country with an invitation to apply in Florida. Some of Gamin's posts 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!"
"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! #lawandorderFlorida #movetowhereyouare"
That first post was in reference to the 57 Buffalo Police officers that quit the city's emergency response team to show solidarity with fellow officers Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe after they were suspended from the Buffalo PD for violently shoving 75 year old activist Martin Gugino. Gugino hit the ground so hard that he suffered brain damage and both officers were later arrested for assault. It also referred to the 6 Atlanta Police officers that were fired for assaulting a couple of college students. The second comment was obviously directed at former Minneapolis Police officers Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane. Those four shouldn't need an introduction since they were fired and charged with murder for killing George Floyd.
When Sheriff Ivey investigated he found out that 15 years ago, Gamin was documented as making a racist comment but was never disciplined. Ivey cited that discovery combined with his latest comments as the reasons for firing him. At a press conference (see video below) he seemed to lean more on the older comment as the tipping point. We think that Sheriff Ivey probably knew about it all along and was just keeping a lid on it unless Gamin gave him some other reason to fire him.
Sheriff Ivey also said that because Gamin resigned without ever being subjected to disciplinary action that he should still be able to find work in law enforcement elsewhere. That is a common reason why cops quit and don't fight disciplinary proceedings. If they think they have a better chance at finding a new job than beating the disciplinary process they just resign. If hired elsewhere Gamin will become what is known as a gypsy cop. Gypsy cops are bad cops that move from place to place to avoid the consequences of their actions. That might not happen however since Gamin is old and according to Ivey there is nothing stopping him from getting his pension.
Gamin was also the president of the Fraternal Order of Police for the Space Coast area.