Tallahassee Police sergeant on leave for 'questionable' social media post about mural, protests

Karl Etters
Tallahassee Democrat

A Tallahassee Police Department sergeant is on administrative leave after a social media posting targeting local Black Lives Matter protesters as a “mob of thugs” and criminals and taking aim at a mural painted on Gaines Street.

TPD Chief Lawrence Revell provided a statement that the officer, confirmed by the Tallahassee Democrat as Sgt. Gavin Larremore, was put on administrative leave this week after the posting last week.

"Over the weekend, I was made aware of a questionable social media post by a member of the Tallahassee Police Department," he wrote in a statement. "I hold every representative of TPD to the highest standard, whether on duty or off. I immediately called for Internal Affairs to open an investigation to determine if the post violates law or any TPD policy."

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell speaks at a news conference where he was announced as the new chief Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019.

TPD officials declined to name the officer, citing Florida law that bars the release of identifying information of officers who are the subject of internal affairs reviews.

But Larremore himself confirmed he was suspended from the same Facebook account under scrutiny by top officials. 

"I was just suspended pending an 'investigation,'" he wrote. "I haven't been told why yet, but I can only guess that something I said offended someone."

Larremore has been with TPD for 17 years and has served as a patrol supervisor on the SWAT Team and a federal fugitives task force. He was one of the first officers on the scene when a truck drove into a crowd of protesters demonstrating downtown on May 30. 

The driver was not charged, but State Attorney Jack Campbell said on Wednesday that the case was largely decided based on videos from the scene, not any one officer's report of the incident. 

In his report Larremore, who details how his role was to monitor the demonstration, described the “hostile” nature of the participants and how the driver attempted to avoid protesters. Larremore is the officer that stopped the truck and began to move protesters back from the vehicle.

“While being pelted with bottles and other objects,” he wrote in his supplemental report that was part of the State Attorney’s Office investigation into the incident. “We were able to remove the occupants from the red truck and secure them in patrol cars which then moved out of the area.”

Read the entire report from the May 30 incident here 

The post in question falsely claims the price of the BLM mural was $25,000; city officials said it cost $8,300, though they did not estimate labor costs for city employees who painted the mural.

Back story:

The post also chides the local protesters as a “gang of anti-anyone not black racists who encourage murdering police officers nationwide.”

“The use of tax dollars to create a monument to these criminals is an affront to every law enforcement officer and law-abiding citizen in Tallahassee. Its insulting. It’s cowardly.”

Revell said he expected the internal review to be completed swiftly and he would be providing updates on the outcome. 

"As police officers, we must always be cognizant that our behavior is a reflection of our peers and agency," he wrote. "My expectations for our conduct have been and will continue to be clearly communicated internally. Any shortcomings will be reviewed, and violations will not be tolerated."

For more than a week, protesters took to the streets of Tallahassee to demand answers in three TPD shooting deaths and for more accountability over the police department. At the same time demonstrations across the entire country demanded justice for George Floyd, a Minneapolis man killed as officers kneeled on his neck in late May.  

Late Tuesday night, City Manager Reese Goad sent an email to the entire city workforce detailing values and a commitment to serving the community and maintaining trust.

“Whether at work, out in the community or on social media, your words and actions should reflect who I know you to be – leaders who exemplify our core values,” Goad wrote in part. “We are all accountable for how we treat each other and speak about the community we serve. Racial and aggressive expressions are not acceptable, a violation of policy, and will not be ignored. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is part of the fabric of our organization.”

TaMaryn Waters contributed to this report. Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.

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