Fired BSO Parkland deputy must be rehired, arbitrator rules

Broward Deputy Josh Stambaugh was one of four deputies fired for neglecting their duty during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in 2018. An arbitrator has ruled he should be getting his job back.

On Monday, Arbitrator Robert Hoffman ruled Stambaugh must be rehired at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office within the week among other orders that the sheriff’s office must follow. Stambaugh is the second deputy of the four to be rehired.

In May, Sgt. Brian Miller was given his job back, $138,410.25 in back pay and had his seniority reinstated. Miller was the first supervisor to respond to the mass shooting that killed 17 students and faculty members and injured another 17.

Stambaugh will be receiving similar treatment.

Hoffman has ordered the sheriff’s office to award him back pay dating back to the date of his firing on June 25, 2019; restore his benefits and seniority; reimburse him all out-ofpocket expenses from his firing; delete or explain his firing on his personnel records; and give him an opportunity to participate in missed or mandatory training.

Hoffman’s decision was based on a technicality, the ruling document read. Hoffman says Stambaugh was terminated 13 days past the deadline that Florida law allows law-enforcement officers to be punished.

The sheriff’s office’s general counsel said,

“Once again, an arbitrator with no connection or association with Broward County has made a flawed decision to reinstate a deputy who was terminated for his response to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.”

“The arbitrator ruled on a procedural issue that

BSO allegedly took too long to conduct the investigation, instead of addressing Joshua Stambaugh’s failures and holding him accountable for his lack of response during the MSD massacre,” the statement continued. “The Broward Sheriff’s Office will explore all legal options to address this erroneous decision.”

The Sun Sentinel reports BSO has appealed the decision and a hearing is scheduled for next month.

MATIAS J. OCNER mocner@miamiherald.com Jess Shanahan, 17, puts her arm around her friend, Lauryn Augustyne, 19, at a makeshift memorial outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 on the two-year mark of the shooting that killed 17 people.