Why Is The City Of Boca Raton Still Hiding Hero Cop?
Thompson’s Case Now Closed. Five Years Probation.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The man shot multiple times by a City of Boca Raton police officer in July of 2021 will spend five years on probation for “aggravated assault” of a law enforcement officer. Jordan Thompson was allegedly experiencing a mental health episode when he waved a knife at two City of Boca Raton cops. One opened fire and shot Thompson multiple times. The incident occurred on a bench outside the Barnes and Noble on Glades Road near FAU during the evening of July 9th, 2021.
The Boca Raton Police Department, despite a national call for police transparency, immediately shielded the identity of the officers involved. The police department cited “Marsy’s Law” as justification. Marsy’s Law is designed to protect victims of crime. The City of Boca Raton and the City of Boynton Beach have both used the law to claim that officers — on duty and paid to protect citizens from violence — are actually crime victims for doing their jobs. Officer identities, claim the departments, are not public since they say the officers are “victims.”
But after nearly a year of filing public records requests, a document provided to BocaNewsNow.com from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement identified the Boca Raton Police Officer who shot Thompson as Christian Gonzalez. He is seen in the photo above, on the left, being welcomed to the police force by Boca Raton Police Chief Michele Miuccio.
WHO IS BOCA RATON POLICE OFFICER CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ?
Gonzalez’s record makes the City of Boca Raton’s shielding of his identity puzzling. In a world where the media and public love to find fault, BocaNewsNow.com finds none. Gonzalez is a hero cop with a spectacular military record. Gonzalez spent years as a Marine. Served as an instructor. A Gunnery Sargeant. An Operations Officer. A Platoon Sargeant. A Recruiter. He received multiple awards and certifications, including: The Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, NATO Medal- ISAF, Iraqi Letter of Appreciation, Meritorious Mast, Certificate of Appreciation, National Defense Service Medal. Gonzalez served in combat missions in Iraq and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Gonzalez returned to “civilian” life as a police officer for the Miramar Police Department in Broward County where he received high praise from his supervisors. He left Miramar PD in pursuit of a higher-paying job and found it in Boca Raton. Gonzalez has received at least 12 letters of commendation in the roughly three years that he has served on the Boca Raton police force. He is the sort of officer departments tend to promote publicly. But the City of Boca Raton continues to hide his identity.
SHOOTING JUSTIFIED SAYS STATE ATTORNEY
The office of Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg began investigating the shooting in the minutes after Gonzalez fired his weapon, per policy. Gonzalez’s military training led to what can only be called a precision action — he struck Thompson multiple times to eliminate the threat, but Gonzalez did not kill him. Even if he had, Aronberg’s office says there would be no fault. BocaNewsNow.com obtained both the investigative report completed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the final report filed by the State Attorney’s Office. In the SAO report, Deputy Chief Investigator Mark Anderson wrote this:
“I believe Officer (Gonzalez) was clearly justified when he fired his handgun at Jordon Thompson. The discharges were in compliance with at least two Florida Statutes which address the justifiable use of force.”
BOCA RATON POLICE, MAYOR SCOTT SINGER, CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE REMAIN SILENT.
BocaNewsNow.com advised the City of Boca Raton, the Boca Raton Police Department, and Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer that we intended to reveal Officer Gonzalez’s identity Tuesday afternoon. We advised our story would publish at 4 p.m. While not a typical journalistic practice, we wanted to give the City an opportunity to release Officer Gonzalez’s name on its own after hiding it for more than a year. We were prepared to continue to withhold his name if the Boca Raton Police Department indicated that Officer Gonzalez’s safety could be compromised. At 3:48 p.m., a City of Boca Raton spokesperson stated the City would respond in an “appropriate amount of time.”
JORDAN THOMPSON ENTERS GUILTY PLEA, RECEIVES PROBATION.
Jordan Thompson, originally charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, last week entered a guilty plea to two counts of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to five years of probation. Thompson will continue to receive mental health counseling. The City of Boca Raton will still not acknowledge who shot him.
Read our previous coverage of the Jordan Thompson shooting here.
