Never let it be said that Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel doesn’t take swift and decisive action when events or individuals under his command challenge the illusion of the “amazing leadership” he paints of the bumbling incompetence that characterizes his department.
A long-troubled student who was well-known to your department shoots up the local high school? Change the subject, spout non sequiturs, and deflect blame!
“I was disgusted. I was just demoralized with the performance of former Deputy Peterson.”
“I can only take responsibility for what I knew about. I exercised my due diligence.”
That’s after comparing himself to “Don Shula, or Abraham Lincoln, or Martin Luther King, or Gandhi,” and digging in his heels as calls for his resignation rain down around him.
What are the latest indignities to befall the hapless chief law enforcement officer? Where should we start? How about with Nikolas Cruz’s younger brother Zachary — who displayed the same “red flags” for violence as his jailed sibling — who was caught trespassing on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas campus?
…the 18-year-old told police he wanted to “reflect on the school shooting and soak it in,” according to an arrest report. It said the teen had no ties to Broward County and that he “surpassed all locked doors and gates and proceeded to ride his skateboard through school grounds.”
Given the laughable security situation and the ineffectual law enforcement response at the school after a mass shooting, maybe it shouldn’t surprise anyone that . . .
Two students were arrested Tuesday for bringing knives to the Parkland school where 17 were killed by a gunman on Feb. 14 and a third is being mentally evaluated for making online threats.
It’s really shocking that anyone could manage to smuggle a weapon onto the campus given the heavy security on display and the clear-eyed vigilance of the law enforcement officers tasked with ensuring that nothing similar happens at the school again. Oh. wait . . .
According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, a Stoneman Douglas student approached a sergeant who was patrolling the interior of the school and said that Deputy Moises Carotti was asleep in his patrol car just after 5 p.m. The sergeant went to the marked patrol vehicle, which was parked on campus in the northwest corner of the 1200 building, and knocked on the window to rouse Carotti, who appeared to be sleeping.
Sheriff Israel was understandably distressed by his somnambulant subordinate.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said he was disheartened to learn of the allegations against Carotti.
“That a deputy was sleeping is incredibly disappointing,” he said. “As you know, I can’t comment on an ongoing internal affairs investigation, but once the findings are in I will make the appropriate decisions regarding the way we are going to handle it and the level of discipline.”
The governor has even offered to take the burden of securing the school off of poor Sheriff Israel’s overburdened hands.
Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday the state is offering to send highway patrol troopers to secure every point of entry at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, following several student arrests the same day the school’s officer was suspended for allegedly sleeping on the job.
Scott sent a letter to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel and Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie Tuesday afternoon, saying he had heard from Parkland parents.
“Today, my office heard from parents of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, including parents who lost their children during the February attack,” the letter read. “They are still concerned about student safety at the school. Recent events at the school have demonstrated the need for additional security measures to be implemented.”
There’s no word yet whether Sheriff Scott will take the Governor up on his offer as the Broward County sh!t show rolls on.