The local deputies’ union determined Thursday it has “no confidence” in Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel amid widespread criticism of how the sheriff’s office oversaw the response to the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association, 85 percent of union members who voted said they did not have confidence in Israel and intend to encourage Florida Gov. Rick Scott to “make change and replace the sheriff with somebody who is capable of amazing leadership.” A total of 628 members participated in the vote.
According to union president Jeff Bell, the “members have displayed great courage to come out and vote under threat of retaliation and reprisal from the sheriff.”
“Amazing leadership starts from the top, and there is no amazing leadership here,” he added. “We are a ship out at seas with no power — adrift.”
In response, Israel argued the vote was an effort to “extort” a pay increase.
“I am accountable to the citizens of Broward County,” the sheriff said. “My job is to continue to do the job I was elected to do, which is to ensure the safety of Broward County’s 1.9 million residents. I will not be distracted from my duties by this inconsequential IUPA union vote, which was designed to extort a 6.5 percent pay raise from this agency.”
“Those who purportedly voted in this straw ballot reflect only a small number of the 5,400 employees,” he added. “The unions representing the vast majority of our employees solidly support the leadership of this agency.”
Bell countered that the union was not seeking a pay raise, and said the union has a “long laundry list” of criticism against Israel.
Per instructions from Scott, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating how Israel’s office and other law enforcement agencies managed the reaction to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, where 17 individuals were killed.
