N.A.A.C.P. demands firing of South Florida officer accused of using racial slurs

By Ivan Taylor

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — A 16-year veteran with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department faces possible termination after an internal investigation revealed serious allegations.

Police officer John Giga is accused of driving a police unit to go bar hopping, using racial slurs against a group of men, and lying to other police officers.

Surveillance video captured the moment three men are fist fighting with Giga in the parking lot of Capones Nightclub near downtown Fort Lauderdale.

“There were actions that led up to that moment, said Marsha Allison, President of Broward N.A.A.C.P.

“Four o’clock in the morning, he’s out there slurring, he’s out there using the ‘n’ word profusely,” said Gordon Weekes, Broward Public Defender, establishing that was the cause of the incident escalated to a fight.

“It was Thanksgiving of last year,” said retired Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes, now an active member of the N.A.A.C.P.

“The NAACP is not anti-police, we are anti-racist police,” said Marsha Allison.

“This is not the type of law enforcement officer that we should have in our community,” added Weekes.

Police officers were called to the scene that early morning of November 2023 not knowing they would find one of their own, officer John Giga.

“… to what they perceived to be an aggravated battery on that parking lot said. He (Giga) said he was there breaking up a fight,” addressed Weeks at a Press Conference with members of the N.A.A.C.P.

According to a 385 page-document from internal affairs, Giga finished his shift, parked his marked vehicle near Blondies Sports Bar in Fort Lauderdale, changed his clothes and never turned off the vehicle; he entered the bar and apparently started drinking.

“And then while he’s doing that, he’s having a very long conversation via text message with a friend of his,” said Weekes, making reference to information from the Internal Investigation about a woman at Capone’s. “He goes to her place of employment. He finds his way into the bar after the bar is closed, and you can see the videos, where this young lady hears him at the door and crouches down to hide.”

Giga left the bar, police said he was irate and apparently drunk too.

“He decides to jump out in the parking lot and approached four black males that he didn’t know, you can see on the (surveillance) tape, they got in their cars and they were leaving and he’s following the car and smashing the windows of the car,” said Holmes.

Officer Giga’s attorney issued a statement about the incident saying:

“Fort Lauderdale police John Giga was the victim of a heinous and brutal aggravated battery by multiple assailants… Despite his serious injuries, John has demonstrated resilience and remains committed to returning to his police officer duties.”

“For a man who has been suspended 4 times, reprimanded six times, I think his time has come,” finished saying Holmes.

The internal document also shows that Giga said he is not racist because his girlfriend is Black. He is now seeking prosecution of the men he encountered on the parking lot of Capones. As far as him getting terminated, the interim city manager is the one who makes the decision.

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