Florida officer, 36, suspended for posting TikTok video of a song asking President Trump to send Mexicans back to Mexico
A Florida police sergeant was suspended without pay for two weeks after he reportedly shared two inappropriate Tik Tok videos, including one that asked President Trump to send Mexicans back to Mexico.
Sgt. Gilbert Monzon of the Coral Springs Police Department served an 80-hour suspension from September to October and must undergo 40 hours of racial bias and sensitivity training.
According to The Sun Sentinel, who broke the story Friday morning, Chief Ed Hudak recommended that Monzon be demoted to patrol officer in January over the controversial videos.
Sgt. Gilbert Monzon of the Coral Springs Police Department was suspended without pay for two weeks over two Tik Tok videos
Monzon, 36, has maintained his rank throughout the investigation and penalty process.
The Sun Sentinel reports that one of the videos featured a robot-like voice that said 'scanning for Mexicans,' then cut to a Venezuelan Coral Springs officer.
'We’ve got a Mexican,' the voice reportedly said.
In another video, an individual was reportedly heard singing, 'Donald Trump, send me home, back to where I belong, back to Mexico, to see my papa.'
One of the videos featured clips from the television show, 'South Park.'
Pictured: Sgt. Gilbert Monzon of the Coral Springs Police Department featured in one of the TikTok videos
Word of the videos reached top brass after they were discovered by a citizen, who was so outraged by the footage that he reported it to Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli and two commissioners.
The Sun Sentinel reports that an internal affairs investigation determined that Monzon's videos exhibited unprofessionalism.
The videos 'disparage the plight of Mexicans in the United States,' said the internal affairs report, per Sun Sentinel.
Investigators claimed the first video had audio that mocked border agents looking for Mexicans.
The second video was 'making light' of President Trump sending Mexicans back over the U.S.-Mexico border.
In May, the Trump administration closed the U.S.-Mexico border, made an expulsion order to turn away migrants and postponed all immigration court hearings amid the pandemic.
The administration has been repeatedly critical of asylum seekers and the immigration system.
President Trump and his administration have continued to pushback against asylum seekers throughout his time in the Oval Office
But Monzon claimed the videos were not meant to be offensive. Rather, he said the videos were satire and he had tried to 'connect with the newer guys at work' by 'trying to think outside the box,' Sun Sentinel reports.
Monzon told investigators that the videos were satirical and had no malice behind them
Monzon, who is Cuban police veteran of 12 years, said he was 'often referred to as the Mexican sergeant' and was poking fun at himself in the process.
'I cannot see that being offensive in any way,' Monzon reportedly told investigators, adding that the videos 'humanize the badge.'
The president of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association union, Rod Skirvin defended Monzon and told Sun Sentinel the investigation was a 'witch hunt' that had to do with 'internal politics within the department.'
The videos, said Skirvin, were 'sent from one officer to another and neither officer found it offensive.'
He added that Monzon was a hero. Monzon was praised amid the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre of 2018 for helping injured shooting victims to safety.
However, investigators still resolved that the videos were offensive and were not representative of the department, Sun Sentinel reports.
In addition to his 80-hour suspension and racial bias training, Monzon was also required to 'educate' his colleagues at each roll briefing with a 'sincere' PowerPoint presentation about social media and the department's policies.