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Hurricane Irma ‘Hot Cop’ in Trouble for Posting Holocaust Jokes, Praise for Hitler

The Internet star who rose to fame with a selfie had much darker stuff on his social media channels

by
Liel Leibovitz
September 15, 2017
Via Facebook
Via Facebook
Via Facebook
Via Facebook

This is why we can’t have nice things: Michael Hamill, who shot to Internet fame earlier this month as one of a trio of “hot cops” helping the victims of Hurricane Irma, went viral again for sharing—drumroll—a Holocaust joke, as well as some warm thoughts about Hitler.

Sworn in as a Gainesville Police Department officer last October, Hamill enjoyed his fifteen seconds of fame when his selfie with two fellow officers became a meme shared and liked by hundreds of thousands of Americans. But when some of these new fans checked out Hamill’s own Facebook page, what they found was less than wholesome.

“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,” mused Hamill in one post from 2013. “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.’”

A few years earlier, in 2011, Hamill displayed the same subtle sensibility when it came to the Jews. “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,” he wrote. “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.”

Few were amused, however, and a complaint against Hamill was soon filed with the GPD, which is now investigating. “The Gainesville Police Department prides itself with our philosophy and mission of compassion, inclusion, and respect,” said GPD spokesperson Ben Tobias, “and will fully review the matter.”

Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.