The first reaction to this report that Broward County’s laughingstock of a chief law enforcement officer, Scott Israel is about to get the boot is…duh! Of course they’re going to get rid of him. He and his embarrassment of an operation bungled the run-up and the response to the Parkland school shooting in virtually every way possible.
They knew the shooter was a big problem — Broward County deputies had responded to dozens of calls from his home — but they didn’t prosecute him when he was violent at school. The kids threw up more red flags than an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaign stop.
Then, on the day of the shooting, his deputy failed to enter the school during the shooting, his inexperienced commander ignored established tactics and set up a perimeter rather than attacking the shooter and then she kept paramedics out of the school long after the shooting had stopped.
So Sheriff Israel’s well-oiled machine was an utter disaster. Given that, the next response to news that he’s on his way out is…what the hell took them so long?
However, according to bigleaguepolitics.com he’s not being removed for abysmal performance on the job . . .
According to the source, Sheriff Israel is being removed from office for criminal issues, not malfeasance, following an investigation conducted by the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott. The source exclusively revealed to Big League Politics that Sheriff Israel is also allegedly being investigated by the IRS.
According to the source in the Broward Sheriffs office, Sheriff Israel’s removal revolves around a criminal matter that the FBI is aware of. Although his failures surrounding the Parkland shooting initially sparked the investigation, it isn’t the sole reason why he is being removed.
The high-level source who wished to remain anonymous told Big League Politics that Sheriff Israel is already aware of the fact that he is being removed from office next week.
It’s probably too much to expect that Israel’s job performance — such as it is — would constitute sufficient reason to fire him.
Since the Parkland shooting, a lot of unflattering information has come out regarding Sheriff Israel. Along with being a mouthpiece for Democratic politicians and gun control advocates, like Hillary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz who he has been photographed with, Sheriff Israel and his department have recently made headlines for more controversy
In May, it was revealed that Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school and the Broward County Sheriff’s office were keeping quiet the fact that Sheriff Israel’s son, Brett, had allegedly assaulted a 14 year old student on campus in an act of bullying.
Whatever the reason, it can only be a plus to have new leadership at the head of the Broward County Sheriff’s Department.
It’s also possible that the timing has something to do with Governor Rick Scott Senate campaign.
Governor Scott is expected to release a statement in the coming week when Sheriff Israel is removed from office. Scott is currently running for US Senate in Florida, and news of Sheriff Israel’s removal is sure to boost his approval rating in what is gearing up to be one of the most important Senate races in the country.