Former GPD officer sentenced to 9 months in jail following plea agreement

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Christopher John Bivins, Jr., 31, a former Gainesville Police Department officer, was sentenced yesterday to nine months in jail, followed by four years of probation, after pleading nolo contendere to three of his five original charges.

Bivins was arrested on October 23, 2023, and charged with burglary with battery, battery with strangulation, obstruction of justice, grand theft from a dwelling, and property damage after a woman reported that he broke down her door while she was out, attacked her and strangled her when she arrived home, and took several of her Apple devices. All five charges were later formally filed.

Bivins was a GPD officer at the time of his arrest and had been GPD’s Officer of the Month for August 2023; he had no criminal history.

On December 16, 2024, Bivins entered a plea of nolo contendere to domestic battery by strangulation, grand theft from a dwelling, and criminal mischief (property damage); the other two charges were dropped as part of the agreement. According to the plea agreement, the charges have a maximum possible sentence of 11 years in state prison.

Yesterday, Bivins was sentenced to two concurrent sentences for the first two charges of 270 days in jail with credit for three days served, followed by four years of probation, and three days in jail with credit for three days served for the property damage charge.

Bivins has already surrendered his law enforcement certificate, and he will be required to successfully complete a batterer’s intervention program, obtain a substance abuse evaluation and follow any recommended treatment, and pay restitution to the apartment complex for the repair of the door.

A booking photo of Bivins is unavailable because, as a former law enforcement officer, he has the right to exempt his photo from public records.