Former GPD Officer to Serve Nine Months in Jail for Domestic Battery
On October 27, 2023, off-duty Gainesville Police Officer Christopher Bivins, 31, went to Simon's Nightclub and texted the victim he paid for a private area of the club for her and her friends.
Around 1:45 a.m., as they left the club and walked to their vehicles, Bivins and the victim argued and parted ways in separate directions.
As the victim drove home, Bivins texted her messages indicating he was breaking into her apartment. Bivins entered the apartment by kicking the front door open.
When the victim got home, she saw her door broken and Bivins inside. The victim asked why Bivins was at her residence without permission, and he began choking her. Bivins held the victim on the ground while kneeling on her until she almost lost consciousness.
Bivins eventually stopped, and the victim was able to get up and flee the scene.
The victim told police she was thinking about her family while Bivins was strangling her and said she thought she was going to “lose her life for nothing.”
When the victim returned to her apartment, Bivins was gone, but he threw her personal items over her balcony before leaving. Bivins stole the victim’s phone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
Bivins told Alachua County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) deputies in the morning that “he did meet with the victim at Simon’s Nightclub and they had an argument.” Bivins advised he was “heavily intoxicated and remembered parking his truck across the street from the victim’s residence but was unable to remember going inside her apartment.”
Bivins was charged with domestic battery, burglary with battery, obstructing justice, larceny and property damage.
Bivins posted a bond of $131,000, and one of his orders was to not consume alcohol. Bivins consumed alcohol at Cantina Anejo, and the State Attorney’s Office made motions for pretrial detention bond revocation.
Judge David Kreider didn’t revoke Bivins’ bond and ordered he wear an ankle monitor.
Bivins made a motion to modify his pretrial release to allow contact with the victim, and Kreider denied it.
On December 17, 2024, Kreider accepted Bivins’ plea deal, where he pleaded no contest in exchange for a guilty conviction and nine months in jail followed by four years of probation.
Bivins was only found guilty for domestic battery, larceny and property damage because the State Attorney’s Office didn’t prosecute his obstruction and burglary charges.
Bivins will have to complete a Domestic Batterers Intervention Program approved by the State Attorney’s Office.
Bivins will be required to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and follow up with recommended treatment.
Bivins will have to pay for the damage he caused to the victim’s residence.
Bivins had to surrender his law enforcement credentials as part of the plea deal.
Bivins will be allowed to have peaceful contact with the victim.
On January 14, 2025, Bivins was officially convicted and sentenced.
Bivins' mugshot is unavailable because police officer mugshots are exempt from public records in Florida.
Bivins was selected as the GPD Officer of the Month in August 2023 under former Chief Lonnie Scott.
A clip on Youtube shows Bivins stating "I don't report to anybody," during a traffic stop.
