Broward County’s sheriff fired six more deputies and disciplined 11 others on Saturday after an internal investigation concluded that multiple members of the Broward Sheriff’s Office failed to properly investigate months of domestic violence complaints from Mary Gingles before she and two others were fatally shot in February.
Two deputies had already been dismissed earlier in the probe. Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said the department “had multiple opportunities to protect Mary during the months preceding her death when she alerted us to the domestic violence she was experiencing,” adding that the deputies and detectives assigned to her cases “failed their training and, ultimately, failed to handle Mary’s repeated cries for help with the urgency required.”
Investigators say the failures occurred before the Feb. 16 killings in Tamarac, Florida, in which Nathan Gingles allegedly shot his wife, Mary Catherine Gingles, chased and killed her after she ran from their home, and also fatally shot her father, David Ponzer, as he sat on the back patio drinking coffee. Neighbor Andrew Ferrin, whose home Mary ran to, also was killed. Prosecutors have charged Nathan Gingles with three counts of murder; he has pleaded not guilty and faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.
A separate investigation by the Miami Herald found that in the year before the killings Mary Gingles repeatedly told friends, family and law enforcement officers that she feared her estranged husband would kill her. Records and interviews compiled by the Herald reportedly show repeated violations of court-ordered restraining orders, alleged stalking behavior including a tracking device placed on her car, and items left in the family garage described as a backpack of supplies such as duct tape and zip ties that alarmed relatives.
Authorities also have said the couple’s four-year-old child was present during the killings and begged the father to stop as the attacks occurred. The triple homicide prompted vigils and a wave of anger and grief in the Tamarac community and renewed scrutiny over whether law enforcement used available tools to remove firearms or otherwise intervene.
Experts and federal officials say removing firearms from people assessed to be dangerous is a key step in preventing intimate partner homicides. A Justice Department analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data has found that more female intimate partners are killed with firearms than by all other means combined. In Florida and other states, so-called red flag laws create a legal process to seize firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others; investigators and activists have asked whether such measures were considered or used in the Gingles case.
Sheriff Tony’s announcement follows an internal review that identified lapses in how deputies and detectives handled the domestic violence reports. The department has not released detailed personnel records beyond the number of officers disciplined and fired. Officials said the disciplinary actions were based on findings that staff failed to properly investigate, follow up or apply training protocols in the months before the killings.
The criminal case against Nathan Gingles remains pending. Prosecutors will continue preparing their case, and any trial dates or motions could be set in the coming months. The sheriff’s office said it will continue to review its policies and training in the wake of the investigation and the community’s outcry over what officials and residents have described as missed chances to prevent the deaths.
