Fort Lauderdale fires police officer accused of racist rant. He’d been suspended before

David J. Neal
·3 min read
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A man with a history of reprimands and suspensions even before an alleged racist tirade during last year’s Thanksgiving weekend is no longer a Fort Lauderdale police officer.

Acting City Manager Susan Grant fired John Giga, a 16-year veteran, Tuesday, first reported by WPLG-Channel 10 and confirmed by Fort Lauderdale police and Giga’s attorney Gene Gibbons Wednesday to the Miami Herald.

“Per the union contract, he has the right to file a grievance and arbitrate the termination,” Fort Lauderdale police said.

Gibbons noted in an email he would be following that route for his client: “Unfortunately, John was wrongfully terminated by the City (Tuesday). I look forward to obtaining justice for John who was a victim of a brutal attack by three violent criminals, clearing his name and getting him fully reinstated to his position as a police officer in arbitration.”

READ MORE: Fort Lauderdale cop John Giga’s current and past episodes

A 385-Internal Affairs investigative report said as Thanksgiving night turned into retailers’ Black Friday, video caught an off-duty Giga imbibing at least five drinks and then got into his police car. The report said he barraged a female friend’s phone with text messages, and she hid from him when he came to her workplace, Capone’s Nightclub, 310 SW Second St., in Fort Lauderdale.

Giga, witnesses said, went into the parking lot after not finding the woman and began arguing with a group of Black men. Witnesses say he fired the N-word at least three times before the group left. The report said Giga followed a car, and punched its window without shattering it.

The driver got out of the car, and Giga took “a fighting stance,” the report said. The driver punched Giga, then, joined by a passenger and someone from another car, pounded Giga for about 20 seconds.

After the police Internal Affairs investigation, Fort Lauderdale Police Chief William Schultz and a civilian review board recommended Giga’s firing. Friday, the Broward Public Defender’s Office and the NAACP’s Broward chapter demanded the same.

READ NEXT: ‘We are anti-racist police.’ NAACP, public defender demand Fort Lauderdale cop be fired

Meanwhile, Friday, the Fort Lauderdale Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 31 issued a statement from Gibbons.

Gibbons’ statement said, in part, “Officer Giga’s attackers left him in an empty parking lot to potentially die and left him with permanent facial disfigurement. Despite his serious injuries, John has demonstrated resilience and remains committed to returning to his police officer duties.

“We encourage the media and the public to refrain from making any judgment of John until all the facts have been thoroughly flushed out. John and I look forward to a fair criminal investigation and prosecution into his disturbing beating.”

Giga, hired by Fort Lauderdale PD in 2008, racked up nine suspensions and reprimands, one of which was for twice using databases he had access to as a police officer to search for an ex-girlfriends’ personal information. He made $147,488 in 2023, according to Govsalaries.com

Herald Staff Writer Devoun Cetoute contributed information to this story.