RINCON — A former Rincon police officer is ready to pounce on the opportunity to refute allegations that he was guilty of being insubordinate, dishonest and a poor performer.

Jose Ramirez, represented by attorney Rachel Berlin Benjamin of Buckley Beal LLP in Atlanta, is citing racial discrimination on the part of Chief Mark Gerbino as the reason for his Jan. 16 termination. He is awaiting a hearing on the matter.

A date for it hasn’t been set.

“As you probably know, Mr. Ramirez is appealing what we believe to be a wrongful termination,” Benjamin said. “We are hoping that the City (of Rincon) is going to right this wrong but we do plan on offering specific evidence of the discrimination at the appropriate time.”

Ramirez is seeking reinstatement and the recovery of lost wages. Compensatory and punitive damages might also be sought pending the outcome of the hearing.

“His priority is clearing his good name,” Benjamin said. “We want to restore his reputation. It has been damaged and there have been a lot of false accusations, and we want to set the record straight about those things.”

Ramirez, a 41-year-old native of Puerto Rico, contends that Gerbino, named Rincon’s police chief in October 2018, doles out punishment unevenly. 

“We believe that Chief Gerbino has treated minority officers, including but not limited to Officer Ramirez, less favorably than Caucasian officers — with respect to discipline and obviously in respect to termination as well,” Benjamin said.

According to documents in his personnel file, Ramirez was fired for “repeated acts of insubordination, dishonesty and his dismal performance.” His personnel file, however,  includes only positive evaluations prior to Gerbino’s arrival.

Gerbino, a 42-year police veteran and certified State of Georgia law enforcement agency manager and assessor, was accused of mistreating officers when he was a major and head of the  Criminal Investigation Division in the Savannah-Chatham County Police Department. In 2010, he was investigated for creating a “hostile work environment.” Nearly two dozen officers were interviewed during the probe.

Through open records requests, Benjamin has obtained records from Gerbino career stops that she believes indicate he has a history of problems as a manager.

Some of the “finding of fact” in the 2010 investigation in Savannah by Ellis, Painter, Rattee & Adams LLP were:

— “Major Gerbino loses his temper and ‘blows up” at subordinates and other employees of the Police Department

— “Major Gerbino twists the facts and lies to suit his own purposes”

— “Major Gerbino is erratic in that he makes impulsive decisions, and will later ‘flip-flop’ on the decision, creating confusion and inefficiency in CID 

— Major Gerbino has spoken in a derogatory manner about employees to other subordinates

The recommendation at the end of a Dec. 15, 2010, summary of the investigation was for Gerbino to be harshly punished. It says, “Based on the foregoing, it is our recommendation that Major Gerbino be severely disciplined up to and including termination in the discretion of Chief (Willie) Lovett, at the very least removal from a leadership position over CID

Citing personal reasons, Gerbino resigned his CID post on Feb. 27, 2011.

In a newspaper report last week, Gerbino said Phillip Scholl, his predecessor as Rincon’s police chief, said Ramirez “was a problem, couldn’t be controlled, didn’t listen and we not to be trusted.” Benjamin downplayed that assertion.

“We understand that most of the statements — if not all the statements — that Gerbino has attributed to the former chief are not accurate ...,” she said.

Scholl hasn’t commented publicly on the matter.

“Scholl has not gone on the record with anything poor about Officer Ramirez’s performance,” Benjamin continued. “If fact, as you probably know,  there is no record of poor performance during Scholl’s time as chief of police. Jose served the community for 12 years and he has an excellent reputation and excellent record of performance before Gerbino comes along.”

Benjamin said Ramirez appreciate support he has received in wake of his dismissal. More than 2,000 people have signed a change.org petition requesting that Ramirez be rehired.

“That speaks to his excellent reputation in the community,” Benjamin said. “There has just been an outpouring of support for this officer given his lengthy record of serving the community.”