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Trans golfer Hailey Davidson wins women’s tournament, increasing chances to LPGA qualifier

A transgender golfer with dreams of making it to the LPGA tour has won a women’s tournament in Florida, which improved her chances of earning herself a spot in a qualifying tour.

Hailey Davidson, 30, came out on top at the NXXT Women’s Classic on Jan. 17 at the Mission Inn Resort and Club, 35 miles northwest of Orlando, after shooting one-over-73 and ending the three-round tournament +4.

Davidson, a Scottish native residing in Florida, won after being 3-shots behind with two holes to go before forcing a playoff following her play on the 18th hole, according to Davidson’s Instagram post celebrating the victory.

NXXT Golf is a professional women’s golf tour focused on “elevating women’s golf.”

“The Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour,” according to the Epson Tour’s website.

The win propelled Davidson to the top of the NXXT tour’s leaderboard where she boasts a total score of 1320, a whopping 150 points ahead of the woman in second place.

Out of the five tournaments held in the league since November, Davidson has placed in the top-2, twice, along with a 7 and 9 place finish.

Along with a trophy and the 500 league points given to the winner, Davidson was awarded $1,576.51, increasing her season total to $4,206.84, with a current career total of $5,801.89 over 8 events.

At the end of the tour’s schedule, 10 exemptions will be awarded to the top five points leaders to participate in the Epson Tour.

The league is the official LPGA qualifying tour and has produced over 600 members who have gone on to play in the largest and most prestigious female golf organization in the world.

Five events have already been completed in the tour’s schedule, with eight more to go, all ending with the NXXT Tour Championship in Ocala, FL. from March 25 to 27.

If Davidson were to be awarded two of the ten exemptions to the Epson Tour, she had to earn approval from the LPGA while she was transitioning from male to female.

She allegedly began talking with the tour in 2016 but wasn’t deemed eligible to compete until 2021, when, at that time, she had been on Hormone Replacement Therapy for 5 years and 8 months.

She also had full gender reassignment surgery by that time, according to a post on social media dated Oct. 2022.

Davidson also claims she lost 15 mph of “club head speed” as a result of her transition.

The average PGA Tour golfer’s club head speed is 114.2 mph while the average driver swing speed on the LPGA Tour is approximately 94 mph, according to analytics company GraffGolf.

Davidson made history prior to joining NXXT Golf, as she became the “World’s first transgender person to win a professional golf tournament,” a record she boasts about in her Instagram bio.

Her goal of making the LPGA has been defended by Caitlyn Jenner, with the Olympic gold medalist supporting the transgender golfer to compete in the tour.

“I’ve been very consistent with how I’ve tried to approach these transgender athletes. It really depends on the sport. Every sport is different,” Jenner said in August 2022.

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Orlando International Airport encourages flyers to air grievances on Festivus, the fictional ‘Seinfeld’ holiday

It’s Festivus for fed-up flyers as long as they keep their moves PG.

The Orlando International Airport (MCO) set up a comment box with a pen and paper where annoyed travelers could submit “airing of grievances” Saturday alongside a traditional Festivus pole inspired by an episode of “Seinfeld.”

“For those that celebrate today’s date, please join us for the ‘Festivus for the rest of us,’” read the poster set up in the airport on Dec. 23 – the annual day for the unofficial holiday.

“Please use the comment box for the Airing of Grievances,” it stated, in reference to one of the main traditions associated with the non-secular, fictitious holiday.

The bustling Florida terminal only asked patrons to please not bust a move on the unadorned metal pole — the anti-commercial alternative to a Christmas tree in Festivus lore — noting it was not for pole dancing.

“Please do not climb on the Festivus Pole,” the message read. “The Festivus Pole is not a Dancing Pole.”

Festivus has grown in popularity after it was introduced on a Dec. 18, 1997 episode of the sitcom “Seinfeld.” In the episode titled “The Stike,” George Costanza’s (Jason Alexander) father, Frank, (the late Jerry Stiller) created the unusual observance with its own specific set of traditions in a fight against Christmas commercialization.

One tradition is called the “feats of strength” and involves a wrestling match with the head of the household.

The airport requested travelers refrain from that holiday activity in its note.

And MCO insisted travelers not take a swing on the pole that appropriately lacked tinsel because as Frank would say, it’s “distracting.”

“It’s got a very high strength-to-weight ratio and no tinsel!” the airport tweeted in a nod to the metal beam used by the elder Costanza in lieu of a Christmas tree.

Social media users voiced compliments as well as tongue-in-cheek complaints over the single-day fixture.

“I got a lot of problems with you people … and you’re gonna hear about it!!.”one user tweeted. “(Not actually you, @MCO).”

“My grievance is that I missed,” another user wrote with the crying face emoji.

In the fine print of a poster, the airport made clear the celebration was a “source of homage, parody, satire, and humor.”

“If you’re still reading this, we hope your day is full of Festivus Miracles!” the signage concluded.

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Peaches Stergo admits to stealing $2.8 million from Holocaust survivor

A heartless Florida woman admitted to scamming an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor she met on a dating site out of a jaw-dropping $2.8 million, federal prosecutors announced.

Peaches Stergo’s years-long fraud cost the elderly victim his life savings while she lived a life of luxury that included a house in a gated community, a Corvette, lavish vacations and designer items, including Rolex watches, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a Friday news release.

In total, the victim signed off on 62 checks totaling almost $3 million that went right into Stergo’s coffers and he ultimately lost his apartment from the romance scam.

Starting in early 2017 — after the 36-year-old woman met the man on a dating site — she asked the victim to borrow money to pay her lawyer who she said refused to fork over funds from an injury settlement, according to the feds.

She claimed the funds were put into a TD Bank account, but evidence indicates she never received a cent from a supposed injury settlement.

Over the next four-and-a-half years, Stergo’s web of lies steadily continued, draining the Holocaust survivor of his final pennies.

She demanded the victim deposit money into her bank accounts because she claimed if not, they would be frozen and he would never get any of the money back that he loaned her, the US Attorney’s Office said.

United States Attorney Damian Williams slammed the fraudster in a statement.

justice.gov

He continued loading money into two accounts belonging to Stergo, who at one point even created a fake email account and fake invoices that were supposed to look like it came from a TD Bank employee, the feds said.

Stergo pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison. She was also ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution and forfeit the same amount, including the more than 100 luxury items she bought including designer clothes, purses and lots of jewelry.

“Peaches Stergo stole the life savings from an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who was just looking for companionship. This conduct is sick – and sad,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “… Thanks to the hard work of the FBI and this Office, Stergo is being held accountable for her fraud.”

Stergo also bought a boat and other cars on top of the house and Corvette she purchased. Some of the fancy items she scooped included from companies like Tiffany, Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton and Hermes.

She’ll be sentenced July 27.

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I gained weight and looked pregnant — it was a 104-pound ovarian cyst

Call it a rebirth.

A 20-year-old Florida woman is celebrating the removal of her 104-pound ovarian cyst holding about 46 liters of fluid.

Allison Fisher, of the Jacksonville area, told a local TV station it felt like she was “pregnant with 10 kids.”

“I let myself believe that if I ignored it, it would go away,” Fisher recounted to Action News Jax. “I was scared. I was just really scared.”

She claimed to News4JAX that she started a menstrual cycle in 2020 that lasted an entire year.

She said she avoided seeing doctors about the problem because in the past, her health issues were dismissed as complications of being overweight. She eventually understood it was a serious matter.

The Florida woman recently underwent removal of her 104-pound ovarian cyst, which she had likened to being pregnant with 10 kids.

News4JAX

“I started to see other people coming forward on social media about their ovarian masses and their problems with their cycles, and I started to realize that something was not right with my stomach,” Fisher told the outlet.

“As I looked closer at it, I realized that it was rock hard. I couldn’t lay on it. I felt like all my organs were being crushed. I looked like I was extremely pregnant.”

She told Action News Jax she couldn’t stand for more than five minutes, nor drive a car due to the sheer size of her stomach.

Fisher said she was also scared to see a doctor as this was happening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allison Fisher, 20, said she feels “so much lighter” without the mass.

Fisher said her mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, which eventually spurred her to seek medical treatment the following year.

Doctors discovered the large benign ovarian mass infiltrating her reproductive area.

Shortly thereafter, she was in the emergency room being operated on by Dr. Martin Martino, a gynecologic oncologist at Ascension St. Vincent’s.

“When we met in the emergency room, she was short of breath. It was right before Christmas. [While she was] lying on her side, I said, ‘Now’s the time, let’s do this,’” Martino recalled to News4JAX.

Pulmonary and cardiology specialists were on hand as well, he added.

“We came together and said, ‘Let’s figure out a way to remove this,’” Martino explained.

Physician assistant Nicole Antenucci emphasized the procedure, which involved robotic technology, “truly took a team.”

“We all just felt so lucky to be able to be a part of it and help her and now be part of her journey moving forward,” Antenucci said.

A team of doctors at a Jacksonville-area hospital helped to remove the cyst using robotic technology.

Fisher said it feels like she has a “second chance” at life.

“I can see my feet again, I haven’t been able to do that in years,” she told News4JAX during the March interview. “I can stand a little bit longer.”

She admitted she is still working to regain her strength, as the cyst “destroyed” her back.

“I feel so much lighter, I feel like a person,” Fisher continued. “I can wear clothes, I can do things that normal people can do. Now, moving forward, I am in the beginning stages of weight-loss surgery, and I am really excited for what life has in store for me.”

Fisher said it feels like she has a second chance at life now that the cyst has been removed.

Fisher’s ovarian mass is one of the largest recorded in recent years. Last year a Brazilian woman had her 100-pound ovarian cyst removed after reportedly living with it for five years.

Two years ago, a Texas woman realized her belly fat was actually a 17-pound stomach tumor.

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I’m a female crocodile handler — men are scared to date me

A reptile handler says her love life is a load of croc.

Savannah Boan revealed that even though she loves her job feeding crocodiles and other deadly creatures, the cost is that her dating life suffers.

“My job affects my dating life in the way that I believe most people are afraid to date such a strong woman that works with prehistoric beasts on a daily basis,” the Florida native told NeedToKnow.Online. “Maybe they’re afraid of me? Maybe they’re afraid of the animals I work with? Maybe they think I’m crazy? I’m not too sure.”

Boan said that any partner of hers “would have to be a superhero just like me” but is also quite sure there is someone out there for her.

In the meantime, Boan said that she is quite content with loving her deadly creatures.

“My romantic interests are always put off by what I do, but I like the alligators and crocodiles better anyway,” admitted Boan. “At least the animals’ intentions are always clear.”

Savannah Boan revealed that even though she loves her job feeding crocodiles and other deadly creatures, the cost of such a job is that her dating life suffers.

Jam Press/@savannahboan

Boan said that any partner of hers “would have to be a superhero just like me” but is quite sure there is someone out there for her.

“Humans are a bit more difficult to try and figure out when it comes to motives,” she continued.

Even without a romantic partner, Boan manages to keep busy with her job at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida.

“I get into work early in the morning and check all the animals under my personal care – feeding, setting up nesting areas, general husbandry, enrichment activities for all the animals including huge alligators, saltwater crocodiles, American crocodiles and Cuban crocodiles,” said Boan.

Boan’s passion for taking care of animals started at a young age.

“I have been saving bugs, snakes, lizards and more since I was knee-high to a grasshopper,” recalls Boan. “My family thinks my job is right in line with my personality.”

Boan said that before landing her dream job, she worked with smaller animals in California.

“Prior to Gatorland I worked with some smaller crocodilians, huge pythons, monitor lizards and other various venomous and non-venomous reptiles at a Reptile Zoo in Southern California,” explained the croc handler.

“I’m a Florida girl at heart though and I have always wanted to work for Gatorland.”

Even without a romantic partner, Boan manages to keep busy with her own job at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida.

Boan achieved that dream in 2016 when she started working at Gatorland.

“I’ve definitely achieved a life goal by working at the alligator capital of the world every day alongside modern-day dinosaurs,” gushed Boan. “I watch over huge alligators, giant saltwater crocodiles, Nile crocodiles, Orinoco crocodiles and more.”

Since joining the team, Boan has become an ambassador for the preserve as well as developed a taste for danger.

Boan achieved that dream in 2016 when she stared working at Gatorland.

“Gatorland is a very safe park but danger is always part of the day,” stated Boan. “One day a lady dropped her phone into our main lake and we had to take a boat out to get it – she dropped it under a walkway.”

”We had to paddle the boat under the walkway into the darkness to try and retrieve the phone,” continued Boan. ”As we were splashing in the water searching for the phone under the walkway we came face to face with a 13-foot alligator eye level with us.”

Boan speculates that the phone retrieval team might have startled the reptile from a nap because it allegedly turned and splashed away from the phone retrieval team.

According to Boan, there is a sense of camaraderie between reptiles and handlers.

“Our alligators and crocodiles pretty much know us by sight and I know them all by name,” said Boan. “Their behavior patterns are all different individually, so getting to know them personally is key to working with them.”

Boan loves her job but has been the subject of many trolls online.

“Any pushback I ever get is generally from men though I have some excellent male colleagues at Gatorland and throughout the world,” said Boan. “There are lots of women working in crocodile conservation and we are all very supportive of one another.”

“Male colleagues that I work with directly are generally great and respectful if they know me,” continued Boan. “However the internet is filled with men and women that think I’m ill-equipped for my position because I’m female and because of my southern accent.”

“People have commented things such as it’s only a matter of time” stated that she doesn’t let the haters get her down, despite the nasty comments she receives on her social media page where she shows off some of the animals she works with.

“I don’t let their hate or wishes for me to be injured bother me though,” stated Boan. “People have commented things such as it’s only a matter of time or even ‘she’ll be dead soon.’”

Boan, who flaunts a whopping 247,000 followers on Instagram, dedicates her page to a few of her favorite crocs including the fan-favorite named Jaws, who in one clip shows off how much he loves when Boan pets him.

“He looks a little like Godzilla lol,” commented one user.

“Jawsome,” quipped another.

“Good boy,” laughed a third.

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Miami Beach braces for new spring break chaos

Florida’s Miami Beach is still reeling from two shocking execution-style murders on crowded streets during spring break last weekend and business owners told The Post they expect the lawlessness and carnage to continue over the next three days.

Local business people and councilmembers have warned that far from attracting the college crowd, those descending on the city are partying on the streets and engaging in shocking illegal behaviors.

“These people have zero respect for any property, for anybody. Drugs, prostitution, you name it we’ve seen it.

“You walk on the street on a daily basis and you’ve got guys coming up to you, [asking] if you want coke, if you want marijuana,” said Sebastian Labno, who co-owns a number of restaurants in the area.

Partygoers shown during Miami Beach spring break 2023

Romain Maurice/MEGA

Partygoers hit the streets during Miami Beach spring break 2023

“The people that come to Miami Beach in the last couple of years are no spring breakers,” Labno said. “They’re adults. They’re troublemakers.”

Labno, 50, added he’d seen people being attacked after card games, others openly engaging in prostitution and a group recently began mixing what appeared to be cocaine on the front patio of one of his poke restaurant along Collins Avenue.

He told The Post he’s concerned for the safety of his patrons, employees and himself. Labno has frequently reported such incidents to police, but said the lawlessness is affecting his businesses, which include high end sushi restaurant Nossa Omakase and Koa Poke – which closed early last Friday and Saturday.

“This week we had nothing but cancellations. People say, ‘We’re too afraid to come,’” he said, adding Nossa has been closed all week following the killings.

Sebastian Labno, 50, a co-owner of Koa Poke and Nossa Omakase

Last Friday shots rang out last Friday around 10:40 p.m. near Seventh Street and Ocean Drive, in the city, according to police. Two people were rushed to a local hospital, where one, a 21-year-old college student from Georgia named Jordan Idahosa, succumbed to his injuries. The other victim was critically hurt.

Days later, a man was shot at point-blank range in a caught-on-camera execution.

His accused killer, 24-year-old Dontavious Polk, allegedly used a stolen semiautomatic gun to unleash at least 11 bullets into the busy sidewalk along Ocean Drive near 11th Street. He was later arrested and charged for the targeted attack, police said. The victim, who has not been identified, could not be saved.

“I could never go on Ocean Drive at night, personally,” Labno added. “During the spring break, especially, it has turned into literally the wild, wild west. Last year, people were shooting each other. This year, people are shooting each other. And it’s just a matter of time that one of the employees is going to get caught in the cross-lines.”

Miami Beach City Commission’s opted not to institute a curfew for the weekend, when thousands of out-of-towners are flooding into Miami Beach for the Ultra Music Festival.

Screengrab shows Sunday morning’s fatal shooting along 11th street and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach.

The commission voted against the curfew during a Monday afternoon emergency meeting, after the weekend of violence.

City Commissioner Ricky Arriola argued curfews are not “a long-term solution,” and pointed to the fact many people descending on the area weren’t partying in bars.

“We’re taking it out on law-abiding businesses,” he argued. “What we have to do is police our streets, make our public safe and work with our business community … Because the crowd that’s coming don’t go to our bars, don’t go to our nightclubs. They party in the streets.”

Instead, city officials prohibited the sale of alcohol after 6 p.m., despite protests from Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements.

“I’m not going to say that it makes us any safer,” Clements said, although he conceded crowds are known to congregate around liquor stores.

Mayor Dan Gelber told the commission the city has “a real problem with the number of people that are coming, and the guns that are coming.”

Partygoers shown along Ocean Drive during Miami Beach spring break 2023

“It feels as though we’re balancing business interests with the public safety. I understand that’s a balancing that happens. I just don’t think after this weekend that’s a balancing we can do,” Gelber said.

He added: “We can’t balance that interest when we’ve had two people killed over the last weekend in as many days, and our police are telling us in no uncertain terms that it is a continued dangerous situation.”

Police gathered on the streets during Miami Beach spring break 2023

Ian Hendry, a property manager at The Netherland — a rental building located on 13th Street and Ocean Drive which houses popular sports bar Finnegan’s Way — said the crowd which makes its way to Miami Beach to wreak havoc is not the horde of college kids people might expect for spring break, but that it remains confined to certain parts of the city.

“It’s always reported as a spring break problem, he said, adding that instead, the people visiting the city are coming “during the spring break time and are going to cause trouble no matter what.”

He added her hasn’t seen much trouble this year, but “I do not go south of 11th during spring break, that’s for sure.”

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Ron DeSantis disavows Florida’s blogger registration bill

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis distanced himself Tuesday from a widely-criticized blogger registration bill, saying he does not support the legislation.

DeSantis pointed out at a news conference that lawmakers can introduce measures independently and said he was surprised he became associated with state Sen. Jason Brodeur’s proposal that would require bloggers who cover government to register with the state.

“Every person in the legislature can file bills,” the governor said after delivering his “State of the State” address.

“I see these people filing bills and there are these articles with my face on the article saying that bloggers are going to have to register with the state and they’re attributing it to me.

“That’s not anything I’ve ever supported, I don’t support,” added DeSantis, a likely 2024 presidential candidate. “I’ve been very clear about what we are doing.”

“I don’t control every single bill that has been filed,” he went on.

Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his “State of the State” address at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., on Tuesday.

AFP via Getty Images

Brodeur’s bill – introduced earlier this month – would have required bloggers who write about the governor, members of his Cabinet or state legislators to register with the state and file monthly reports on who paid them and the amount of compensation — on pain of up to $2,500 in fines.

The legislation immediately came under attack for violating the US Constitution’s free speech guarantee.

Ron Kuby, a First Amendment lawyer, predicted the law wouldn’t pass court muster.

“It’s hard to imagine a proposal that would be more violative of the First Amendment,” Kuby said. “We don’t register journalists. People who write cannot be forced to register.”

Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, called on Brodeur to pull his pitch.

“The idea that bloggers criticizing a politician should register with the government is insane,” Gingrich said in a Twitter posting Sunday. “It is an embarrassment that it is a Republican state legislator in Florida who introduced a bill to that effect.

“He should withdraw it immediately.”

With Post wires

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Stripper Tierah Miller attacked ex with cash wad, police say

A disgruntled Florida stripper was arrested last month after she allegedly hurled a “large amount of rolled up money” at her co-worker’s head.

Tierah Miller, 29, and her accuser — a 34-year-old man that she had previously dated for six months, both work at the Baby Dolls strip club in Clearwater, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Smoking Gun.

The alleged cash attack happened inside the club on Feb. 26 at 11:55 a.m. — a week after the couple had called it quits, the complaint said.

When the man “attempted to walk across the stage to speak to another co-worker,” Miller purportedly hurled a “large” wad of cash at him, striking him in the back of the head, the report stated.

Miller was slapped with a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, according to the complaint — which noted that she appeared to be sober and the attack did not draw blood.

Tierah Miller, 29, was arrested after allegedly throwing a “large” wad of cash at her ex-boyfriend’s head on Feb. 26.

The alleged attack happened at Baby Dolls strip club in Clearwater, Florida.

A criminal complaint obtained by The Smoking Gun.

It was unclear how much money was used in the attack, with the outlet speculating that “singles would appear to be a likely component.”

Miller was reportedly released from jail without bond and ordered to avoid contact with her ex-boyfriend, even as she was allowed to continue dancing at the club that employs them both.

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Florida man shoots teen daughter, her mom, 2 others dead: cops

A Florida man is accused of fatally shooting his own teenage daughter, her mother and two others before a surviving child inside the home called for help Wednesday morning, according to authorities.

Deputies rushed to the crime scene in Canaveral Groves after one of two unharmed children called a relative for help, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said during a news conference.

Deputies found the bodies of 15-year-old Kiarra Terwilliger and her mother Constance Terwilliger, 35, who used to be in a relationship with accused killer Domenico Gigante, around 2 a.m.

Other victims were identified as Glenda Terwilliger, 63, and 36-year-old Michael Andrew Watson.

Gigante, 36, who Ivey called an “extremely violent individual,” was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He was arrested hours after the shooting and is being held without bail.

Suspected murderer, Domenico Gigante, is escorted to a patrol car following his arrest on Wednesday.

Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Florida: Facebook

Gigante is placed into the vehicle following his arrest for killing four earlier in the day on March 1, 2023.

The surviving children are 9 and 6, the sheriff said. One of the children contacted a relative, who then raced to the scene and called 911, Ivey said in an earlier press conference.

A motive for the deadly gunfire was not revealed by authorities.

“Folks, I’m gonna tell you this is an extremely violent individual with an extremely violent past,” Ivey said of Gigante.

He was previously arrested for domestic violence and battery in 2005, multiple counts of cruelty to animals in 2008 and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault in 2012.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey speaks during an update on the quadruple murder in Canaveral Groves on Wednesday.

Ivey said Gigante once killed a dog by breaking his head on the table and snapping his neck and also stabbed another dog.

“That’s the level of violence this individual possesses,” he said.

“My thoughts and prayers are with this family,” Ivey continued. “And we as a community mourn their loss.”

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Florida adds 1,400 law enforcement recruits: Gov. DeSantis

Florida has doubled its number of law enforcement recruits — to 1,400 — since December as police departments across the country are struggling to find new hires.

“In Florida, our number one priority is to protect Floridians, and the best way to do that is by supporting the law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement Wednesday.

“My administration will continue to deliver on our promises by prioritizing law-and-order policies and making Florida the best state to be a law enforcement officer.”

The Sunshine State has attracted a slew of new officers since DeSantis launched the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program last year, which offers a one-time $5,000 bonus to new police hires in the state.

To date, 431 recruits have relocated to Florida, including 155 from New York, California and Pennsylvania, DeSantis said, adding that crime in his state is at a 50-year-low.

Florida has doubled its new law enforcement recruits since December.

Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

DeSantis’ program has attracted new police hires from 45 states.

DeSantis, 44, has embarked on a nationwide pro-police tour, blasting liberal bail policies in Democrat-run cities like New York City, ahead of his widely expected 2024 presidential run.

“If you’re disenchanted, if you don’t think things are going to turn around wherever you are — not just in New York, wherever — just know that there’s a state that’s doing it right. “There’s a state that will value your service,” DeSantis told cops during a visit to Staten Island Feb. 20.

In 2022, the NYPD saw 3,701 cops retire or resign — the most since the post-9/11 exodus in 2002, when 3,846 cops said goodbye to the job, according to data obtained by The Post.

Bail reform, resentment for the city’s vaccination mandate, the defund-the-police movement, cops feeling disrespected and the lure of higher pay and lower stress has forced New York’s Finest into retirement or to other police departments.

Florida’s surging police recruitment is an anomaly compared to national trends.

Officer retirements across the US are up 45% and resignations rose 18%, according to a national survey by the Police Executive Research Forum from June 2021, the latest numbers available.

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