It’s the sheriff’s department that just can’t do anything right. I would say this would be an embarrassment, but we’ve long past that; it’s been embarrassing for months. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office has fired two more deputies for neglect during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead. It sparked yet another wave of anti-gun activism. The school resource officer that was the initial lightening rod, Scot Peterson, resigned, though faced intense scrutiny for pretty much not confronting shooter Nikolas Cruz as he committed this senseless act of violence. For his part in this debacle, he was recently brought up on child neglect and perjury charges (via WSJ):
Two more Broward County Sheriff’s deputies have been fired following an internal investigation into the agency’s handling of the massacre at a Parkland, Fla., high school last year, officials said.
[…]
Two additional deputies were fired this week, Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said Wednesday. The remaining three officers will return to their regular duties.
“One of the things that we were able to examine and look at as a command staff was the performance aspects of the deputies that were out there that day,” Mr. Tony said at a news conference. “As we conclude this final chapter for this organization…we are now going to continue to move forward with fixing the issues that exist in the agency as related to training.”
In all, seven sheriff’s deputies were investigated (via CBS Miami):
“Seven deputies were the subject of the internal affairs investigation at my request and our findings, now that this investigation has concluded, included the termination of two employees yesterday. That was Deputy Edward Eason as well as Deputy Joshua Stambaugh. The other three remaining deputies were found non-sustained, meaning no disciplinary action was taken against them,” said Tony.
Prior to these firings, sheriff’s deputies were caught sleeping on the job near Marjory Stonemanweeks after the shooting. Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Scott Israel as sheriff for his incompetence as well. Oh, and to add a cherry on top of this mess, the sheriff’s department accidentally released a murder suspect earlier this month (NBC Miami):
The Broward County Sheriff's Office released Eric Vail, 28, when a second-degree murder charge was dismissed even though he had been indicted by a grand jury earlier this year on a first-degree murder charge.
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said a "communication issue within the court system" caused the mix-up. She said the jail had not received any documentation from the clerk of courts that Vail was to remain in custody to face another charge.
The state attorney's office said sheriff's officials should have known about the charge because they took Vail to court Thursday on the upgraded charge.
When it comes to upholding law and order, Broward County has been an abject failure.
BREAKING: Two more deputies have been fired in the wake of last year's deadly shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony says "in essence, it was neglect of duty." https://t.co/DjJClIiiPE
— AP South U.S. Region (@APSouthRegion) June 26, 2019
