Tipsheet

Dude, Really: Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel Knows Whom To Blame for His Suspension

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 12, 2019 1:16 PM

As Cortney noted, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has been suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis. This was expected. Israel had told staff prior to this announcement that this would most likely happen.  And Gov. DeSantis made it official. 

Israel, who has been criticized for how his department responded to the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school last February, also took part in the CNN town hall event, where he slammed the National Rifle Association. The event was held days after the shooting. Now, with his suspension, Israel has blamed the NRA, and said this was all about politics. 

It was also revealed after this CNN town hall that his deputy never went into the building to confront the shooter, Nikolas Cruz. Still, as it became clear that Israel’s department dropped that ball, he remained adamant that nothing was his fault. There were also allegations that Israel had built a political machine in the county with taxpayer money, but the mounting criticism to the response to the school shooting prompted a confidence vote from the rank-and-file. And it didn’t get better. A deputy, who has since been fired, that was in charge of school security after the shooting was caught sleeping on the job.