Two Miramar Police Department SWAT team members, Det. Jeffery Gilbert and Det. Carl Schlosser, were off duty and training at Coral Springs when they learned of the shooting at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month, where 17 people were killed.
Instead of treating the two men as heroes, the SWAT's unit commander informed the two men that they had been temporarily suspended from their duties. They were unwanted, you see.
“Effective immediately you have been suspended from the SWAT Team until further notice,” wrote Capt. Kevin Nosowicz, the unit’s commander, in a Feb. 22 memo obtained by the Miami Herald through a public records request. “Please make arrangements with the training department to turn in your SWAT-issued rifle.” (Miami Herald)
Pat Franklin, a retired Miami Beach police detective, offered further explanation for the disciplinary action.
"You don’t want to let those guys loose into something that’s chaotic where they might take inappropriate action," he noted. "It is prudent to have them stand down unless there is a plan.”
Many will not accept this is as a valid reason, after knowing that four armed Broward County deputies failed to properly act during the shooting. One officer, Scot Peterson, stood outside the building where the shooting was happening, yet stood still for four minutes.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has not taken responsibility for his deputies' inaction,nor for how law enforcement missed countless red flags about the shooter's erratic behavior before he shot up the school.
Marjory Stoneman students and faculty returned to school last Wednesday. Let's ask this community if they think Gilbert and Schlosser are heroes.