A former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy is taking legal action, claiming he was unjustly fired over his response to a triple murder in Tamarac earlier this year.
Sgt. Travis Allen, who was dismissed from the department in the wake of the February 16 killings, spoke to WSVN 7News on Tuesday, alongside his attorney Stephan Lopez, saying he was suspended and terminated without due process. Allen points to Sheriff Gregory Tony and the department as responsible for what he calls a mishandling of the situation.
“It’s just disgusting how they handled the case,” Allen said.
The incident occurred on the 5700 block of Plum Bay Parkway, where 43-year-old Nathan Gingles fatally shot his estranged wife, Mary Gingles, her father, and a neighbor. Mary had filed a restraining order and made repeated calls to BSO in the weeks before the attack, warning of threats from her husband.
“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 the tragedy, Sheriff Tony publicly acknowledged shortcomings in the department’s response and fired six deputies, including Allen. Tony specifically criticized Allen’s response time, showing diagrams of Mary attempting to flee from Gingles while deputies were nearby.
“If you go straight to the call, you intercept this guy running down the street,” Tony said.
During the event, Nathan Gingles left with his 4-year-old daughter, passing Allen’s cruiser without incident. Allen reported what he observed over police radio: “He’s walking with a child, maybe 4 years old, and she has no shoes on.”
Asked if he could have acted differently that night, Allen said, “I did the best I could.” He added that he was unaware at the time that the man and child were connected to the multiple 911 calls. “I became the scapegoat in this situation,” he said.
Lopez stated that Allen has been denied access to internal affairs records that are publicly available, and said his client is unfairly bearing the blame for the killings.
“He was terminated without due process,” Lopez said. “The only person responsible for these deaths is the individual in custody.”
Allen expressed sympathy for the victims’ family. “My heart goes out to her and her family. It’s a tragedy that this happened to her,” he said.
Allen now plans to file a lawsuit against BSO, citing violations of Florida’s Sunshine Laws and other statutes. “There’s more to the story than what they were putting out,” he said.
The internal affairs investigation that prompted the firings concluded that deputies had “every opportunity” to prevent the deaths but failed. In addition to Allen, Deputy Brittney King, Deputy Daniel Munoz, Deputy Lemar Blackwood, Deputy Eric Klisiak, and Sgt. Devoune Williams were terminated. Thirteen other deputies received suspensions ranging from five to 15 days, while some allegations were dismissed.
Sheriff Tony previously said of the tragedy, “We had a chance to save that woman’s life and we failed. Anyone with a badge and a gun who thinks that is acceptable can resign today.”
