Broward Sheriff Tony clashes with Israel, his ousted predecessor, in forum
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony traded blows Monday night with his predecessor Scott Israel over powerful unions that Black Lives Matter protesters say have blocked much-needed reforms and protected bad cops.
The two Democratic front-runners faced off in a candidate forum held by the League of Women Voters of Broward County and the American Civil Liberties Union ahead of the Aug. 18 primary election. Six other candidates in the crowded field jostled to break through the pack.
Israel painted himself as the “people’s sheriff” who was unjustly robbed of his position by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, despite having earned overwhelming support from Broward voters in 2016. Tony countered that he’s a reformer who hasn’t been afraid to shake up the agency and take on bad cops.
Israel said Tony has lost control of the agency. He referenced that his replacement is accused of lying on paperwork about his past. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating those accusations.
“Greg Tony is not wanted by one union at the agency,” Israel said. “He’s lost trust. He has come to Broward County, and he’s been untruthful, untruthful, untruthful, and he is actually being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. You can’t have this with the sheriff of Broward County.”
Israel has been endorsed by the Broward County AFL-CIO and the Federation of Public Employees, which represents detention deputies and civilian employees at BSO.
DeSantis suspended Israel in
January 2019, citing failures his agency made related to mass shootings at the Fort Lauderdale airport and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He appointed Tony to fill the job.
Since then, Tony has had a rocky relationship with labor unions. Tony said it’s not the union rank-and-file but their leaders that have created problems.
“I refuse to lead an organization where union representation finds it suitable to allow 17 kids to die in a school,” Tony said.
“I refuse to find it acceptable that deputies would beat someone in handcuffs in a hospital. I refuse to allow deputies to beat 15-year-old kids and slam their heads down into the ground.”
Tony fired a deputy who was caught on camera slamming a teenager’s head into the ground during a rough arrest in Tamarac, along with a deputy who punched a man handcuffed to a hospital bed.
Israel said those acts of police brutality happened under Tony’s watch. He said he made his own reforms at the agency, bringing body cameras to Broward County and cutting off the school-to-prison pipeline.
“As Rick Party, the Hot 105 DJ, said, ‘I am the people’s sheriff,‘” Israel said. “That’s who I am.”
Both Israel and Tony have baggage that other candidates in the crowded field tried to exploit. The Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association, which represents about 1,400 deputies, voted no confidence in Israel and Tony and opted to endorse Al Pollock, a retired BSO colonel running as a Democrat.
Pollock cited that endorsement and said he has the experience to ensure employees are protected from COVID-19.
“Each employee voted because they believe in me and they said that I am the right person to bring that leadership to the agency. … You have to take care of the employees,” Pollock said. “You have to make sure they are protected, which they have not been recently. We got so many sick employees at the Broward Sheriff’s Office because of lack of leadership.”
DeSantis cited “neglect of duty” and “incompetence” when suspending Israel, saying Israel failed Broward County.
A special investigator recommended Israel be reinstated, but the Republican-controlled Florida Senate voted to remove Israel from office.
Tony has been dogged by omissions he made on law enforcement applications that he shot and killed a man when he was a teenager living in a tough neighborhood in Philadelphia.
Tony signed an affidavit in January that asserts that he has never had a criminal record sealed or expunged and pledged all his answers were “true and correct.” He never revealed to the FDLE, the governor who appointed him, or his prior police job with the Coral Springs Police Department, that he had been cleared of shooting an 18-year-old man dead in the 1990s in Philadelphia, in an act of self-defense.
Other candidates tried to break through the crowded field during the forum Monday night:
■ Wayne Clark, a Republican, said he opposes eliminating cash bail and would ensure that deputies enforce the law when asked about arresting low-level offenders. “I am going to make sure my officers enforce the law. … We are not there to change the law,” he said.
■ Willie Jones, a Democrat, said his focus would be on implementing 21st-century policing practices in Broward County. “It is time for us to stop finger-pointing, time for us to stop bickering, time for us to stop dividing our community,” he said.
■ Andrew Smalling, a Democrat, said he favors diversionary programs for low-level offenders and ending cash bail. He also called for increasing resources for deputies to further their education by providing tuition reimbursement.
■ Santiago Vazquez, a Democrat, said he would hire mental health professionals who would evaluate both suspects and law enforcement officers to ensure better policing.
■ Charles Whatley, an independent, said he wouldn’t be beholden to Republicans or Democrats. “You can’t have corruption in BSO and at the same time have the people trust you,” he said. “It doesn’t work.”
Early voting for the primary elections runs from Aug. 8-16. Election Day is Aug. 18.
Because Broward County is heavily Democratic, the winner of the Democratic primary is expected to emerge victorious in the Nov. 3 general election.