Former Chief of BSO Tamarac District Fired After Triple Murder

by Kevin Deutsch May 14, 2025

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Jemeriah Cooper Named Captain for Broward Sheriff's Office Tamarac District

Former Tamarac Captain Jemeriah Cooper {Courtesy Broward Sheriff’s Office}

The former head of BSO’s Tamarac command has been fired in the latest fallout from the agency’s handling of a triple murder in Tamarac.

Jemeriah Cooper, who took charge of the Tamarac District in 2023, was demoted to lieutenant from the rank of captain ten days after the killings and moved to BSO’s Port Everglades district. On Wednesday, BSO released a notice of termination that said Cooper had been fired May 9 for “failing to meet probationary standards.”

Cooper’s firing comes nearly three months after the fatal shootings of three city residents on Feb. 16. Mary Gingles, 34; her father, David Ponzer, 64; and her neighbor, Andrew Ferrin, 36, were fatally shot by her estranged husband, Nathan Gingles, 43, who also kidnapped his four-year-old daughter during the killing spree in Tamarac, detectives said. The child was unhurt, and Nathan Gingles has pleaded not guilty to the murders.

In the aftermath of the killings BSO said that eight deputies, including Cooper and two sergeants, were suspended with pay in connection with the case.

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony has said deputies’ errors included failing to confiscate Nathan Gingles’ guns or seeking a court order to seize the weapons.

Mary Gingles called BSO more than a dozen times between February 2024 and January 2025 to report concerns over her husband’s behavior, according to media reports. At one point, she found a GPS tracker that had been purchased by Nathan Gingles and placed on her vehicle. She reported the device BSO.

The agency, however, did not act in time to prevent Nathan Gingles’ alleged killing spree.

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.