Broward County Sheriff Suspended Over Poor Response to Parkland Shooting
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis officially suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel Friday over his poor response to the Parkland shooting on Feb. 14, 2018.
Effective immediately, I am officially suspending Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for his repeated failures, incompetence and neglect of duty. https://t.co/tkHzxTHhjH
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 11, 2019
“Effective immediately, I am officially suspending Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for his repeated failures, incompetence and neglect of duty,” DeSantis tweeted Friday.
DeSantis announced the appointing of Gregory Tony as the interim sheriff of Broward County. Tony has an extensive background in active shooter training.
In addition, the full statement from Gov. DeSantis released on his website states:
“Sheriff Israel has repeatedly failed and has demonstrated a pattern of poor leadership. He failed to protect Floridians and visitors during the tragic Fort Lauderdale International Airport shooting in 2017.”
“He failed in his duties to keep our families and children safe during the devastating shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. These incidents demonstrate Sheriff’s Israel’s repeated incompetence and neglect of duty.”
“The families of the victims deserve accountability. It is my job as Governor to ensure that the safety of our local communities, especially the safety of our children, is paramount. Government officials must be held accountable for their actions, and/or inactions. For these reasons, I am suspending Sheriff Israel from office effective immediately.”
Israel reportedly told his officers he was suspended, but DeSantis had not announced any such decision, The Daily Caller previously reported.
Calls to suspend the sheriff were immediate after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission released a report detailing the failures that happened on the day of the shooting.
It was determined that one of his deputies, school resource officer Scot Peterson, failed to enter the school to confront the shooter, while three other sheriff’s deputies who arrived at the scene took cover behind their vehicles.
Revelations included police not going after suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz due to Israel changing a policy that said officers “may” instead of “shall” go after the shooter, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
Seventeen people died on the day of the massacre.
A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.
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