Tensions are rising between the Broward Sheriff’s Office and its deputies’ union after Sheriff Gregory Tony announced disciplinary action against 10 deputies in connection with a deadly domestic violence case in Tamarac earlier this year.
The move follows an internal review into how the department responded to warnings from Mary Catherine Gingles before she, her father, and a neighbor were murdered.
The incident occurred on February 16, when 43-year-old Nathan Gingles allegedly violated a restraining order and stormed into his estranged wife’s home on Plum Bay Parkway. He fatally shot her father, David Ponzer, in front of their 4-year-old daughter, then followed Mary into a neighbor’s house and killed them both. He then took the child to a nearby Walmart, where he was later arrested.
Records show Mary Gingles had filed for a restraining order and contacted BSO more than a dozen times prior to the killings, warning deputies about her husband’s threats.
“He was stalking her to kill her and had a plan to kill her. She revealed that to the police department; they did nothing!” said Frank Ponzer, Mary’s uncle.
Following an internal affairs investigation, BSO’s professional standards committee recommended eight terminations. Sheriff Tony added two more names to that list, bringing the total to 10 employees who now face being fired. An additional nine members of the agency have been recommended for suspension.
“This death is on my watch,” Tony said at a news conference. “I’m the sheriff of this county. I’m responsible.”
The decision has drawn criticism from the Broward Deputy Sheriffs Association. President Dan Rakofsky said while the murders revealed serious problems within the department, firing long-serving employees was not the solution.
“This is a tragic and heinous premeditated murder, and our employees did everything they could that day, to their knowledge,” Rakofsky told 7News. “Instead of correcting those areas, decisions are made to terminate people — long-standing, dedicated public servants.”
In a statement, the union called the firings “excessive” and accused the Sheriff of using the employees as “political cover.”
“These excessive punishments demonstrate an overreaction by the Sheriff, where gaps in the agency’s capabilities have been exposed, along with many systemic and institutional processes in need of better oversight and/or revision. Employees who have dedicated their lives to protecting this community throughout their police careers have been sacrificed as political cover for the failures of the systems and processes of the agency at large. This is an overreaction for public effect that does nothing to prevent the next tragedy. The termination of many of these heroes does nothing to make the people of Broward County safer,” the statement said.
BSO said the internal investigation remains active and that no additional information can be shared at this time.
The 10 employees recommended for termination are entitled to a hearing. Those proceedings are expected to begin in the coming weeks.
