The Florida Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Gov. Ron DeSantis had the legal authority to suspend Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
DeSantis suspended Israel in January over mishandling of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which killed 17, and the 2017 shooting at the Fort Lauderdale Airport, which killed five people.
“Today’s @flcourts opinion leaves no doubt of my authority to suspend a government official for neglect of duty and incompetence. Scott Israel failed to protect the families and students of Broward County and I look forward to the @FLSenate resuming the process of formal removal,” DeSantis tweeted Tuesday.
Today’s @flcourts opinion leaves no doubt of my authority to suspend a government official for neglect of duty and incompetence. Scott Israel failed to protect the families and students of Broward County and I look forward to the @FLSenate resuming the process of formal removal.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 23, 2019
When DeSantis issued the executive order suspending Israel, he said that the sheriff was being suspended because of “repeated failures, incompetence and neglect of duty.”
DeSantis said that the Broward County Sheriff’s Office interacted with Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz on a number of occasions, including an instance where Cruz posted a picture with a gun and the caption: “I am going to get this gun when I turn 18 and shoot up the school.”
According to DeSantis, none of Israel’s officers filled out an incident report on the matter and the school resource officer was not notified of Cruz’s post. According to the executive order, a number of deputies were around the school during the shooting but did not move toward the gunfire to confront the shooter.
Florida’s Senate could vote to reinstate Israel, but if it doesn’t, Israel would have to run again in 2020 to be elected sheriff.
“I hope and expect the Senate will look at the merits of the claim,” Israel’s lawyer Ben Kuehne told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “If they do, and do not act politically, then Sheriff Israel will be reinstated.”
