Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has warned the Gainesville Police Department that it could face legal action if it does not change a search policy related to gender identity.
In a two-page letter dated July 30 and addressed to GPD Chief Nelson Moya, Uthmeier said it had come to his attention that the department “prioritizes gender ideology over officer and detainee safety” through its current search policy.
According to Uthmeier, the policy states that searches “should be conducted by an officer with the same gender expression or identity” as the person being searched. The policy also directs officers who are “uncertain as to the individual’s gender expression or identity” to ask that person for their preference regarding the gender identity or expression of the searching officer.
Uthmeier wrote that the policy violates Florida law, serves no legitimate law enforcement purpose and endangers both officers and detainees. He added that it is permissible to require female officers to search female detainees and male officers to search male detainees.
“It imposes an unsafe and illogical requirement for female officers to search males who identify as female yet who possess the strength, size, and anatomy of a male. Searches of females by male officers who identify as female create parallel safety, privacy, and dignity concerns for female detainees,” Uthmeier wrote.
Uthmeier also argued that the policy likely violates the Florida Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employers, including public employers, from limiting, segregating or classifying employees in a way that deprives them of employment opportunities or adversely affects their status because of protected characteristics, including sex.
“A policy that disproportionately puts female officers in uncomfortable and dangerous positions violates the FCRA because it ensures members of one sex are exposed to disadvantageous terms or conditions of employment to which members of the other sex are not exposed,” Uthmeier wrote.
Uthmeier gave the department until Aug. 15 to confirm whether it has rescinded what he called the “unlawful search policy.” If his office does not receive confirmation, he said it may pursue legal action.
GPD Public Information Officer Art Forgey told The Sun during a brief phone interview July 31 that the department had just received the letter and was reviewing the policy while consulting with legal counsel.
On Feb. 17, 2025, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Uthmeier as Florida attorney general after naming former Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S Senate. Moody filled the seat vacated by Marco Rubio after President Donald Trump selected Rubio to serve as secretary of state.
Uthmeier’s current term runs through Jan. 2, 2027. He is on the ballot for the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
The Sun previously reported on Feb. 16 that Uthmeier accepted a part-time adjunct faculty position at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he receives a $100,000 salary and serves as an adviser to the school’s Law and Government Program.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida AG threatens legal action over Gainesville police search policy
Reporting by Elliot Tritto, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Elliot Tritto, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
