Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel was quick to call for more gun control in the wake of the horrific school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentines Day. It became clear why; Israel needed to deflect attention away from all the errors his department had made before and during the shooting.
Not only had his police department received at least 45 calls relating to the perpetrator, Nikolas Cruz, an armed school resource officer from his department did nothing as the massacre unfolded.
By April, two months after the massacre, Israel faced a no-confidence vote from the union representing his own deputies. In a statement from Jeff Bell, the president of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association, “the move follows many instances of suspected malfeasance, misfeasance, failure to maintain fiduciary responsibility by the Sheriff, failure to properly investigate possible criminal misconduct by members of his senior command staff and the lack of leadership that has crushed morale throughout the agency.”
And now, he’s about to hit the door.
According to Big League Politics, “high level sources within the Broward County Sheriff’s office exclusively revealed to Big League Politics that disgraced Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is set to be removed from his position as Sheriff next week. Sheriff Israel is being removed from office for criminal issues, not malfeasance, following an investigation conducted by the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott.”
In addition to concerns relating to the Parkland massacre, it was also revealed in May that Israel’s department was keeping quiet the fact that his own son had allegedly assaulted a 14-year-old in an act of bullying. That assault occurred four years ago before being made public, by the way. Had a school shooting not put a spotlight on his department, it likely would’ve never been revealed. Instead of investigating the incident, Israel’s office decided to investigate how the report of the assault was leaked.
What priorities he’s proven himself to have. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Scott.
