In the wake of the triple tragedy in Tamarac, several more deputies from the Broward Sheriff’s Office are facing disciplinary action.
The Broward Deputy Sheriff’s Association reports that a trainee has been fired and that five cops are being placed on unpaid leave.
This comes after seven other deputies were put on leave a few days after the February neighborhood killings. At least one of them has returned to work.
Following Nathan Gingles’ arrest, hours after he had pursued and killed his estranged wife, Mary, her father, David Ponzer, and a neighbor, Andrew Ferrin, the murders stunned the area and caused much distress to many.
Seraphine, Nathan’s small daughter, was discovered with her father at the Walmart close to the crime scene and was safely retrieved by deputies.
BSO said last month that former Tamarac Capt. Jemeriah Cooper, who was in charge of the unit at the time of the murders, had been fired.
Deputies claim that Mary made several attempts to contact BSO for assistance because she was afraid of Nathan and had a restraining order against him.
At a press conference a few days after the killings, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony stated, “There was enough there where we could’ve potentially pursued a probable cause affidavit, so we can arrest him and take him off the streets, and that didn’t happen.”
Tony accepted responsibility for the tumultuous series of events at the same press conference.
“This death is on my watch. It’s on my watch. I’m the sheriff of this county. I’m responsible,” Tony stated.
However, not everyone is pleased with the most recent bans. The president of the Broward Deputy Sheriff’s Association union claims that the deputies’ conduct have not been fairly reviewed.
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According to a statement from Dan Rakofsky:
“These are hard-working and valued career law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day with integrity, courage, and respect for the safety of this community. This punishment being prematurely meted out, BEFORE the conclusion of the internal investigation, shows again that there is a rush to prejudge these deputies…BSO has chosen to impose career-damaging discipline based on speculation and optics, not facts or findings.”
The union stated that they will not start defending the deputies through the disciplinary procedure until the internal inquiry is finished.
As of late Monday evening, BSO had not released a comment regarding this most recent wave of terminations.
