Hurricane Irma 'Hot Cop' May Be A Terrible Anti-Semite

GAINESVILLE, FL — Police in Gainesville took the unusual step of asking the public to not call three police officers to respond to their post-Hurricane Irma recovery needs. It seems the department has been flooded with calls to get the devilishly good looking police officers to make house calls after their Facebook selfie exploded on the internet. With hundreds of thousands of reactions, it became such a distraction that the Gainesville Police Department has since taken the post down.

All that Facebook love, though, is tainted by allegations of hate. One of the “hot cops” — Officer Michael Hamill — has been accused of making terrible anti-semitic comments, including one where he recommended “the Hitler way” of dealing with “stupid people.” Gainesville police have launched an internal review of the comments, reportedly made in 2011 and 2013.

Before the controversy, it was all internet love, all the time for Hamill and two of his colleagues, John Nordman and Dan Rengering. One Facebook user called them “hunk-a-potamases” before the post was disabled, and another suggested: “Do a calendar, add puppies and I’m pretty sure we can rebuild Texas and Florida.” Much of the Texas coast was in similar straits as Floridians after a stubborn Hurricane Harvey sat over the coastal bend for days last month, dumping as much as 50 inches of rain in some places.

The officers snapped the photo before going on the nightshift Sunday, writing they were “part of the night crew getting ready to do some work.” (For more hurricane updates and news from your local community, sign up for real-time news alerts and morning newsletters; find your local Florida Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

One of the officers, who is single, said his phone blew up after the photo was posted.

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“A lot of messages and what not,” Rengering told Fox News. “I honestly had to turn my phone off last night, so it’s been excessive.”

Hamill said his wife didn’t like all the attention directed at her husband, but has “come around since she’s realized there’s nothing she can do about it.”

Police said the calendar suggestion was a good one and they’ll be putting together a calendar to raise money for Hurricane Irma relief.

The Gainesville Sun first reported that Hamill had been accused of making anti-semitic remarks in Facebook posts, which were captured in screenshots. The Sun said a 2013 post read:

“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. 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.”

In 2011, the newspaper said, Hamill wrote: “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. 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.”

Photo via Gainesville Police Department Facebook page