Don’t let Sheriff Tony’s past trauma be used as a racist attack

A dark story that we’ve seen time and time is being repeated this past week in Broward County. Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, the first African-American sheriff in our County’s history, is now being subject to the type of racially-tinged political attacks that should be relegated to the dustbin of history.

According to a published report in the Florida Bulldog detailing an incident from 27 years ago, as a 14-year old boy growing up in a dangerous neighborhood in Philadelphia, Gregory Tony defended himself and his brother from an armed man, shooting his would-be assailant in self-defense. After looking at the facts of the case, the juvenile justice system reviewed his actions, concluded there was no crime, and cleared his name.

However, 27 years later in 2020, because we are now four months away from an election, this traumatic incident is being resurfaced as part of a political smear campaign to delegitimize Sheriff Tony’s leadership and besmirch his character.

As faith leaders in our community, we are intimately aware of how hard it is to rise from tough circumstances, in areas where gun violence, drugs, and gang activity are the norm.

Sheriff Tony’s experience matches the lived experience of folks in the worst neighborhoods of our County and across this country—to have to fend for your life leaves an indelible mark on a person and a great deal of trauma its wake, difficult for many to surmount.

In our view, Sheriff Tony’s story is inspirational and a testament to his character. It is the story of a man who was able to rise above the trauma and circumstances of his past to become a leader in law enforcement.

The courts already found that the only thing Gregory Tony was guilty of was protecting himself and his family from a violent, armed drug dealer.

The fact that his opponents would seek to re-air this incident –– and use it to try and depict him as just another young black kid with a gun — only shows how low they are willing to go to besmirch his name.

If these attacks are successful, it would send a disturbing message to young black and brown boys in our community: that even if they go through the criminal justice system and are cleared of all charges, they will never be cleared by the court of public opinion.

In the past 15 months, we’ve witnessed how Sheriff Tony has transformed the Broward Sheriff ’s Office into a better steward of justice, developed a real partnership with our community that has been lacking for many years, and made us safer.

In these times, we need that type of moral, courageous and effective leadership in Broward County for the years ahead. But more than that, by supporting Sheriff Tony, we can send a better message to young black and brown kids in our community growing up in the projects — that your environment doesn’t have to dictate what you will become; that through perseverance, you can rise above your circumstances and lift a whole community with you.

Bishop Hurricane Johnson, Changing Your Life Cathedral Ministries; Apostle Jimmy Butler, Upperroom Christian Faith Center; Apostle Amos Benefield, Kingdom Worship Center; Bishop Dr. Philip London, Beacon Miracle Ministries; Apostle Clothel London, Divine Healing and Deliverance International Ministries; and Pastor Jarael Holston Jones, Life Transformation Center