The voting period for the no confidence vote for Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has ended. The results were resounding; 85 percent of the county’s deputies have no confidence in Israel. The law enforcement official and his department have been under intense criticism for how they handled the response to the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14. The deputy assigned as the school resource officer, Scot Peterson, did not engage shooter Nikolas Cruz, remaining outside the building during the incident. Peterson resigned rather than be placed on unpaid leave. Voting period for the vote began last week (via Sun Sentinel):
A deputies’ union said Thursday afternoon that it has “no confidence” in Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. The union revealed the results of a vote, which indicated 534 out of 628 who voted said they had no confidence in the sheriff.
A union of rank-and-file deputies on Thursday afternoon will reveal the results of its “no confidence” vote in Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association initiated the vote last Friday, citing crushed morale amid national criticism of how the agency handled its response to the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The association’s 1,300 voters have been casting votes electronically since Friday.
The Sentinel added that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating how Israel and other police agencies responded to the shooting. This could be used as a reason to remove Israel, who is an elected official. Israel responded by saying the vote was inconsequential, and that it was done to extort a 6.5 percent pay raise. Israel has touted his “amazing leadership” as sheriff. Thank God for me is the motto. Well, not everyone agrees.
Sheriff Israel responds to IUPA vote: pic.twitter.com/RCuoz0Y9cO
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) April 26, 2018