A Florida police officer whose photo gained him internet fame while working after Hurricane Irma has resigned during an internal affairs investigation.
The Gainesville Sun reports that Michael Hamill resigned from the Gainesville Police Department on Dec. 6, when he was supposed to appear for an internal affairs interview.
Police spokesman Ben Tobias says investigators were looking into anti-Semitic statements made on Hamill's personal Facebook page, as well as allegations that Hamill had consensual sex while on duty. Tobias says both allegations could have resulted in termination.
Hamill gained attention after a selfie with two other Gainesville police officers was posted to the department's Facebook following Hurricane Irma in September. Before being removed, the photo had received 181,000 comments, 517,000 likes and 276,000 shares.
Hamill was suspended with pay on Sept. 15 as the investigation began, the Sun reports.
An Internal Affairs Report indicates that the GPD received complaints from two people in September about anti-Semitic posts on Hamill’s personal Facebook page, according to the Sun. The posts were made before Hamill was hired as an officer.
“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," Hamill wrote in a 2011 post. "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.”
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“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," Hamill wrote in a 2013 post. "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 Sun reports that Hamill was also investigated in October by the internal affairs department over a sexual battery complaint. The agency determined no charges would be filed against Hamill, but found evidence showing Hamill had sexual relations with a woman while on duty in 2017.
The woman told investigators she met Hamill when he drove her home as an Uber driver, which violated GPD rules on outside employment, the Sun reports.
