A UF Police Department sergeant is facing a three-day suspension after an internal investigation found he repeatedly made racist and antisemitic comments to coworkers and attempted to influence official application processes to help his superior’s son get a job.
UFPD launched its investigation into Sgt. Andrew Mcintosh in February after two former members of the Gator Emergency Medical Response Unit, a student-run volunteer EMS unit under the UFPD, filed complaints alleging misconduct.
The investigation, led by Sgt. Kyle Peterson, sustained five counts against McIntosh, who is the liaison between GEMRU and UFPD, including violations of provisions of courtesy, special privileges, command and supervisor authority, unbecoming conduct and harassment directives.
One of the complainants, former GEMRU executive director Ethan Trandoan, 21, told police he resigned in February because McIntosh was a “detriment to the growth of GEMRU through his ill-tempered manner, lack of professionalism, as well as a fundamental failure in performance.”
He alleged McIntosh acted in ways that were “unfit for a leader” and “deeply unsettling,” especially in regards to the racist and religious jokes he made. Trandoan told the investigator in an interview that McIntosh referred to the NBA as the “National Black Association'' and made a comment about Jewish people “being frugal with money” in front of a Jewish GEMRU member.
That member, Eliana Jaffa, told investigators McIntosh made several antisemitic comments that made her uncomfortable.
According to Jaffa, McIntosh said, “Something along the lines of, ‘It’s always the Jews starting the World Wars,’” shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. She also described an instance where McIntosh referred to a speaker at a national medical conference as a “Jew doctor” and said, “it’s always the Jews.”
In his interview with the investigator, McIntosh denied the allegations and said the jokes seemed “out of character, not funny and out of context.”
“I cannot recall that,” McIntosh said. “That's the best I can get you.”
The other complainant, Malea Joyce, 22, served as GEMRU’s director of support services last year and said she left the unit because of McIntosh’s behavior. In an email to Cpt. Latrell Simmons, Joyce accused McIntosh of withholding information, “speaking negatively and unprofessionally” about her to other members and being generally unresponsive.
Joyce told the investigator that McIntosh asked her to “find a way” to accept then-UFPD Major Bart Knowles’ son into GEMRU after he failed the application process.
Upon learning that Knowles’ son didn’t pass, Joyce said McIntosh opened a review of the entire application process, which she said made her “very uncomfortable.” No changes to the application process were made, and Knowles’ son was never admitted to GEMRU.
McIntosh said he told Joyce “[Knowles] needs to be passed because he’s the major’s son,” but didn’t explain why he made the request and told investigators he acted on his own.
Knowles, who stepped in as interim UFPD chief June 12, did not direct McIntosh to pass his son, according to McIntosh.
Joyce also alleged McIntosh was reluctant to order approved supplies for GEMRU including flyers, tabling materials and uniforms. She said he ignored concerns regarding GEMRU’s Alcohol Education Program and avoided speaking to her.
Joyce told The Alligator she felt neutral about McIntosh’s potential suspension.
“I’m glad to see that they took what we had to say seriously, but I don’t know how much of a legitimate difference it’ll make,” she said. “I think I’ll be happier if I know that GEMRU, because of this, has a more positive environment for the executive team and for the students in the unit.”
Joyce said she hoped the investigation will increase transparency within GEMRU and allow students to have “more of a consistent say” in the organization’s operations.
“I quit, and I pushed to say something in the first place because I didn’t want it happening to another student,” Joyce told The Alligator. “If something bad is happening to you, say something about it. You don’t have to just sit there and take it because you need the volunteer hours.”
Trandoan, the former GEMRU executive director who said he quit because of McIntosh’s behavior, told The Alligator he hoped the investigation is a “wake-up call” and McIntosh “is able to grow as a leader.”
“There should be good checks and balances on your leadership so [students] can know that when there’s something that’s not right, you should and you can speak up,” Trandoan said. “I think that message has been spread.”
McIntosh did not admit fault for any of the allegations made against him. The investigation is now closed and in the first step of the grievances process, according to UFPD Cpt. Latrell Simmons. The disciplinary phase of the investigation has not been finalized.
McIntosh didn’t respond to multiple calls and emails requesting comment. His phone number was configured to go directly to voicemail.
Eliana Machefsky, the legal fellow of the National Police Accountability Project, said internal investigations like these are important to indicate to others that the breaking of department policy won’t be tolerated.
“It’s important to look into allegations like this to see if there’s any truth to them and to make sure that that’s not spilling into the officer’s conduct,” she said.
Machefsky said though she was unfamiliar with McIntosh’s case, a three-day suspension seemed “like a pretty light response” if UFPD wants to discourage future misconduct.
Contact Grace McClung at gmcclung@alligator.org. Follow her on X @gracenmcclung.
Grace McClung is a third-year journalism major and the graduate & professional school reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, Grace can be found running, going to the beach and writing poetry.
